HULBERT    FOOTN 


TWO  ON  THE  TRAIL 


V^MU^ 


;Ixx>k! "  she  cried. 


"  Isn't  it  like  the  frontispiece  to  a  book 
of   adventure!." 


TWO  ON  THE  TRAIL 

A  STORY  OF 
THE   FAR  NORTHWEST 


BY 
HULBERT   FOOTNER 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    W.    SHERMAN    POTTS 


GARDEN  CITY        NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &   COMPANY 

1911 


ALL  RIGHTS    RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OP  TRANSLATION 
INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES,  INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 

COPYRIGHT,   iglO,  BY  OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

COPYRIGHT,  I QI I,  BY  DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHED,  PEBRUAEY,  IQII 


Co 

,  JU  2X 


2228405 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I.  IN  PAPPS'S  RESTAURANT    . 
II.  THE  UNKNOWN  LADY 

III.  ON  THE  TRAIL 

IV.  THE  STOPPING-HOUSE  YARD 
V.  AT  MIWASA  LANDING 

VI.  NATALIE  TELLS  ABOUT  HERSELF 
VII.  MARY  CO-QUE-WASA'S  ERRAND 
VIII.  ON  THE  LITTLE  RIVER 
IX.  THE  HEART  or  A  BOY 
X.  ON  CARIBOU  LAZE    . 
XI.  THE  FIGHT  IN  THE  STORM 
XII.  THE  NINETY-MILE  PORTAGE 

XIII.  THE  NEWLY-MARRIED  PAIR 

XIV.  THE  LAST  STAGE 
XV.  THE  MEETING 

XVI.  NATALIE  WOUNDED  . 

XVII.  THE  CLUE  TO  RINA  . 

XVIII.  MABYN  MAROONED  . 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  GRYLLS  REDIVIVUS 253 

XX.  SUCCOUR 266 

XXI.  THE  BROKEN  DOOR 284 

XXII.  THE  BLIZZARD          .....  295 

XXIII.  THE  SOLITARY  PURSUER    .        .        .        .315 

XXIV.  IN  DEATH  CANYON            ....  326 
XXV.  EPILOGUE:  SPOKEN  BY  CHARLEY        .        .  342 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"Look!"  she  cried.  "Isn't  it  like  the 
frontispiece  to  a  book  of  adven- 
ture!"   Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 

At  the  same  instant  the  boat  lurched 
drunkenly;  and  they  pitched  overboard 
together 150 

There,  clinging  to  the  corner  of  the  cabin 
for  support,  stood  the  figure  of  a 
woman 212 

It  was  a  grim  figure  that  the  first  rays  of 

light  revealed  sitting  on  the  big  rock    .      336 


TWO  ON  THE  TRAIL 


TWO  ON  THE  TRAIL 

i 

IN  PAPPS'S  RESTAURANT 

THE  interior  of  Papps's,  like  most  Western 
restaurants,  was  divided  into  a  double  row 
of  little  cabins  with  a  passage  between,  each 
cabin  having  a  swing  door.  Garth  Pevensey  found 
the  place  very  full;  and  he  was  ushered  into  a  cubby- 
hole which  already  contained  two  diners,  a  man  and 
a  woman  nearing  the  end  of  their  meal.  They  appeared 
to  be  incoming  settlers  of  the  better  class  —  a  farmer  and 
his  wife  from  across  the  line.  Far  from  resenting 
Garth's  intrusion,  they  visibly  welcomed  it;  after  all, 
there  was  something  uncomfortably  suggestive  of  a 
cell  in  those  narrow  cabins  to  which  the  light  of  day 
never  penetrated. 

Garth  passed  behind  the  farmer's  chair,  and  seated 
himself  next  the  wall.  He  had  no  sooner  ordered  his 
luncheon  than  the  door  was  again  opened,  and  the 
rotund  Mr.  Papps,  with  profuse  apologies,  introduced 
a  fourth  to  their  table.  The  vacant  place,  it  appeared, 
was  the  very  last  remaining  in  his  establishment. 

3 


4  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  newcomer  was  a  girl;  young,  slender  and 
decidedly  pretty:  such  was  Garth's  first  impression. 
She  came  in  without  hesitation,  and  took  the  place 
opposite  Garth  with  that  serenely  oblivious  air  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  highly  civilized  young  lady.  Very 
trimly  and  quietly  dressed,  sufficiently  well-bred  to 
accept  the  situation  as  a  matter  of  course.  Thus 
Garth's  further  impressions.  "What  a  girl  to  be 
meeting  up  in  this  corner  of  the  world,  and  how  I 
should  like  to  know  her!"  he  added  in  his  mind.  The 
maiden's  bland  aloofness  was  discouraging  to  this  hope; 
nevertheless,  his  heart  worked  in  an  extra  beat  or 
two,  as  he  considered  the  added  relish  his  luncheon 
would  have,  garnished  by  occasional  glances  at  such 
a  delightful  vis-a-vis.  Meanwhile,  he  was  careful  to 
take  his  cue  from  her;  his  face,  likewise,  expressed  a 
blank. 

The  farmer  and  his  wife  became  very  uncomfort- 
able. Simple  souls,  they  could  not  understand  how  a 
personable  youth  and  a  charming  girl  should  sit  oppo- 
site each  other  with  such  wooden  faces.  Their  feeling 
was  that  at  quarters  so  close  extra  sociability  was 
demanded,  and  the  utter  lack  of  it  caused  them  to 
move  uneasily  in  their  chairs,  and  gently  perspire. 
They  unconsciously  hastened  to  finish,  and  having  at 
length  dutifully  polished  their  plates,  arose  and  left  the 
cabin  with  audible  sighs  of  relief. 

This  was  a  contingency  Garth  had  not  foreseen, 
and  his  heart  jumped.  At  the  same  time  he  felt  a  little 


IN    PAPPS'S    RESTAURANT  5 

sorry  for  the  girl.  He  wondered  if  she  would  con- 
sider it  an  act  of  delicacy  if  he  fastened  the  door  open 
with  a  chair.  On  second  thoughts,  he  decided  such 
a  move  would  be  open  to  misconstruction.  Had  he 
only  known  it,  she  was  dying  to  laugh  and,  at  the 
slightest  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  would  have  gone  off 
into  a  peal.  Only  Garth's  severe  gravity  restrained 
her  —  and  that  in  turn  made  her  want  to  laugh  harder 
than  ever.  But  how  was  Garth  to  learn  all  that  ? 
Girls,  more  especially  girls  like  this,  were  to  him  insolv- 
able  mysteries  —  like  the  heavenly  constellations.  Of 
course,  there  are  those  who  pretend  to  have  discovered 
their  orbits,  and  have  written  books  on  the  subject; 
but  for  him,  he  preferred  simply  to  wonder  and  to 
admire. 

Since  her  arrival  the  objective  point  of  his  desire 
shifted  from  his  plate  some  three  feet  across  the  table; 
he  now  gazed  covertly  at  her  with  more  hunger  than 
he  evinced  for  his  food.  She  had  a  good  deal  the 
aspect  of  a  plucky  boy,  he  thought;  a  direct,  level 
gaze;  a  quick,  sure  turn  to  her  head;  and  the  fresh, 
bright  lips  of  a  boy.  But  that  was  no  more  than  a 
pleasant  fancy;  in  reality  she  was  woman  clear  through. 
Eve  lurked  in  the  depths  of  her  blue  eyes,  for  all  they 
hung  out  the  colours  of  simple  honesty;  and  Eve  winked 
at  him  out  of  every  fold  of  her  rich  chestnut  hair.  She 
was  quick  and  impulsive  in  her  motions;  and  although 
she  showed  such  a  blank  front  to  the  man  opposite,  her 
lips  flickered  with  the  desire  to  smile;  and  tiny  frowns 


6  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

came   and  went    between   the   twin    crescents  of  her 
brows. 

As  for  her,  she  was  sizing  him  up  too,  though  with 
skilfully  veiled  glances.  She  saw  a  square-shouldered 
young  man,  who  sat  calmly  eating  his  lunch,  without 
betraying  too  much  self-consciousness  on  the  one  hand, 
or  any  desire  to  make  flirtatious  advances  on  the  other. 
Yet  he  was  not  stupid,  either;  he  had  eyes  that  saw 
what  they  were  turned  on,  she  noted.  His  admirable, 
detached  attitude  piqued  her,  though  she  would  have 
been  quick  to  resent  any  other.  She  was  angry  with 
him  for  forcing  this  repression  on  her;  repression  was 
not  natural  to  this  young  lady.  She  longed  to  clear 
the  air  with  a  burst  of  laughter,  but  the  thought  of  a 
quick,  cool  glance  of  surprise  from  the  steady  eyes 
opposite  effectually  checked  her.  As  for  his  features, 
they  were  well  enough,  she  thought.  He  had  a  shapely 
head,  broadest  over  the  ears,  and  thatched  with  thick, 
straight  hair  of  the  ashy-brown  just  the  other  side  of 
blonde.  His  eyes  were  of  the  shade  politely  called 
gray,  though  yellow  or  green  might  be  said  with  equal 
truth,  had  not  those  colours  unpleasant  associations. 
His  nose  was  longish,  and  he  had  a  comical  trick  of 
seeming  to  look  down  it,  at  which  she  greatly  desired 
to  laugh.  His  mouth  was  well  cut,  and  decisively 
finished  at  the  corners;  and  he  had  a  chin  to  match. 
In  spite  of  her  irritation  with  him,  she  was  reminded 
of  a  picture  she  had  seen  of  Henry  Fifth  looking  out 
from  his  helmet  on  the  field  of  Agincourt. 


IN    PAPPS'S    RESTAURANT  7 

As  the  minutes  passed,  and  Garth  maintained  his 
calm,  she  became  quite  unreasonably  wroth.  Her 
own  luncheon  was  now  before  her.  By  and  by  she 
wanted  salt,  and  the  only  cellar  stood  at  Garth's  elbow. 
Nothing  could  have  induced  her  to  ask  for  it;  she  merely 
stared  fixedly.  Garth,  presently  observing,  politely 
offered  the  salt-cellar.  She  waited  until  he  had  put  it 
down  on  the  table,  and  removed  his  hand  from  the 
neighbourhood;  then  took  it. 

"Thank  you,"  she  murmured  indignantly;  furious 
at  having  to  say  it. 

Garth  wondered  what  he  had  done  to  offend 
her. 

At  this  moment  there  was  an  interruption;  again 
the  apologetic  Mr.  Papps  with  yet  another  guest. 
This  was  a  tradesman's  comely  young  wife,  with  very 
ruffled  plumage,  and  the  distracted  air  of  the  unaccus- 
tomed traveller.  She  was  carrying  in  her  arms  a 
shiny  black  valise,  three  assorted  paper-covered  bun- 
dles with  the  string  coming  off,  and  a  hat  in  a  paper 
bag;  and,  although  it  was  so  warm,  she  wore  her  win- 
ter's coat,  plainly  because  there  was  no  other  way  to 
bring  it.  Her  hair  was  flying  from  its  moorings;  her 
face  flamed;  and  her  hat  sat  at  a  disreputably  rakish 
angle.  As  she  piled  up  her  encumbrances  on  the 
chair  next  to  the  girl,  and  took  off  her  coat,  she  bubbled 
over  with  indistinguishable,  anxious  -,  iumos c-~.au At 
last  she  sank  into  the  seat  by  Garth  with  something 
between  a  sigh  and  a  moan. 


8  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I've  lost  my  husband,"  she  announced  at  large. 

Her  distress  was  so  comical  they  could  not  forbear 
smiling. 

Encouraged  by  this  earnest  of  sympathy,  the  new- 
comer plunged  into  a  breathless  recital  of  her  mis- 
chances. 

"Just  came  in  over  the  A.  N.  R.,"  she  panted.  "By 
rights  we  should  have  arrived  last  night,  but  day- 
befo re-yesterday's  train  had  the  right  of  way  and  we 
was  held  up  down  to  Battle  Run.  I  tell  you,  the  rails 
of  that  line  are  like  the  waves  of  the  sea!  I  was  that 
sea-sick  I  thought  never  to  eat  mortal  food  again  —  but 
it's  coming  back;  my  appetite  I  mean.  He  was  to 
meet  me,  but  I  suppose  he  got  tired  after  seventeen 
hours,  small  blame  —  and  dropped  off  somewheres. 
S'pose  I'll  have  to  make  a  round  of  the  hotels  till  I  find 
him.  You  don't  happen  to  know  him,  do  you?"  she 
asked  Garth.  "John  Pink,  the  carpenter?" 

"I'm  a  stranger  in  Prince  George,"  said  he  politely. 

"Oh,  what  and  all  I've  been  through!"  groaned  Mrs. 
Pink,  with  an  access  of  energetic  distress.  She  shook 
a  warning  finger  at  the  girl.  "  Take  my  advice,  Miss," 
she  warned,  "  and  don't  you  let  him  out  of  your  sight 
a  minute,  till  you  get  him  safe  home!" 

The  girl  looked  hard  at  her  plate;  while  for  Garth, 
a  slow,  dark  red  crept  up  from  his  neck  to  the  roots 
°^obi?t.Vi  herTl?f  i.Mrs.  Pink's  r.:  stake  was  surely  a 
natural  one,  there  they  sat  lunching  privately  together 
in  the  secluded  little  cabin.  Moreover,  they  looked 


IN    PAPPS'S    RESTAURANT  9 

like  fit  mates,  each  for  the  other;  and  their  air  of 
studied  indifference  was  no  more  than  the  air  com- 
monly assumed  by  young  married  couples  in  public 
places  —  especially  the  lately  married.  Without 
appearing  to  raise  her  eyes,  the  girl  in  some  mysterious 
way,  was  conscious  of  Garth's  dark  flush.  "Serve  him 
right,"  she  thought  with  wicked  satisfaction.  "I 
shan't  help  him  out."  But  Garth's  blush  was  for  her 
more  than  for  himself. 

Mrs.  Pink,  absorbed  in  her  own  troubles,  was  inno- 
cently unaware  of  the  consternation  she  had  thrown 
them  into.  She  plunged  ahead;  still  addressing  her 
remarks  to  the  girl. 

"Perhaps  you  think  there's  no  danger  of  losing 
yours  so  soon,"  she  went  on;  "and  very  like  you're 
right.  But,  my  dear,  you  never  can  tell!  Bless  you, 
when  I  was  on  my  wedding  journey,  he  hung  around 
continuous.  I  couldn't  get  shet  of  the  man  for  a  min- 
ute, and  I  was  fair  tired  out  of  seeing  him.  But  that 
wears  off  —  not  that  I  mean  it  would  with  you"  — 
turning  to  Garth  — "  but  nothing  different  couldn't 
hardly  be  expected  in  the  course  of  nature." 

Garth  considered  whether  he  should  stop  Mrs.  Pink's 
tongue  by  telling  the  truth.  But  it  seemed  ungallant 
to  be  in  such  haste  to  deny  the  responsibility.  He 
felt  rather  that  the  disclaimer  should  come  from  the 
girl;  and  she  made  no  move;  indeed,  he  almost  fancied 
he  saw  the  ghost  of  a  smile.  Under  his  irritation  with 
the  woman  and  her  clumsy  tongue,  he  was  conscious 


10  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

of  a  secret  glow  of  pleasure.  There  was  something 
highly  flattering  in  being  taken  for  the  husband  of 
such  an  ultra-desirable  creature.  The  thought  of  her 
being  really  one  with  his  future,  as  the  woman  sup- 
posed, and  travelling  about  the  country  with  him 
made  his  heart  beat  fast.  Slender,  trim  and  mistress 
of  herself,  she  had  exactly  the  look  of  the  wife  he  had 
pictured. 

Mrs.  Pink  broke  off  long  enough  to  order  her  lunch- 
eon, and  from  the  extent  of  the  order  it  appeared  she 
had  entirely  recovered  her  appetite. 

"The  next  thing  I  have  to  do  after  rinding  my  man," 
she  resumed,  with  a  wild  pass  at  her  hat,  which  lurched 
it  as  far  over  on  the  other  side,  "is  to  find  a  house. 
They  tell  me  rents  are  terrible  high  in  Prince  George. 
Are  you  two  going  to  settle  here  ? " 

Garth  replied  in  the  negative.  He  had  decided 
if  the  girl  did  not  choose  to  enlighten  Mrs.  Pink,  he 
would  not. 

"It  has  a  great  future  ahead  of  it,"  she  said  solemnly. 
"It's  a  grand  place  for  a  young  couple  to  start  life 
in.  And  elegant  air  for  children.  Mine  are  at  my 
mother's." 

Garth  swallowed  a  gasp  at  this;  but  the  girl  never 
blinked  an  eye. 

"But  how  I  do  run  on!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Pink. 
"No  doubt  you've  got  a  good  start  somewheres  else." 

"Not  so  very,"  said  Garth  with  a  smile. 

The  smile  disarmed  the  young  lady  sitting  opposite, 


IN    PAPPS'S    RESTAURANT         11 

and  somehow  obliged  her  to  reconsider  her  opinion  of 
him.  "  I  believe  the  creature  has  a  sense  of  humour," 
was  her  thought. 

"Are  you  Canadians  ?"  inquired  Mrs.  Pink  politely. 

"I  am  from  New  York,"  said  Garth. 

Mrs.  Pink  opened  her  eyes  to  their  widest.  If  he 
had  said  Cochin  China  she  could  not  have  appeared 
more  surprised.  For  New  York  has  a  magical  name 
in  the  Provinces;  and  the  more  remote,  the  more  glow- 
ing the  halo  evoked  by  the  sound. 

"Bless  me!"  she  ejaculated.  Then,  addressing 
herself  to  the  girl:  "How  fine  the  shops  and  the  opera 
houses  must  be  there!'* 

"I've  not  been  there  in  some  years,"  she  answered 
coolly.  "I  am  from  Ontario." 

"Well,  I  declare!"  cried  Mrs.  Pink.  "Quite  a 
romance!  Where  did  you  meet?" 

"Here,"  said  Garth  readily.  There  was  no  turning 
back  now. 

"What  a  nice  man!"  now  thought  this  perverse 
young  lady. 

"Well!  Well!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Pink  with  immense 
interest.  "Ain't  that  odd  now!  Was  it  long  since?" 

"Not  so  very,"  said  Garth  vaguely.  He  glanced 
across  the  table  and  saw  that  his  supposed  wife  had 
finished  her  lunch.  His  heart  sank  heavily. 

"Three  months?"  hazarded  Mrs.  Pink. 

"It  was  about  half  an  hour  ago,"  came  brisk  and 
clear  from  across  the  table. 


12  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Mrs.  Pink  looked  up  in  utter  amazement;  her  jaw 
dropped;  and  a  piece  of  bread  was  arrested  halfway 
to  her  mouth.  The  girl  had  risen  and  was  drawing 
on  her  gloves. 

"Good-bye,  Mrs.  Pink,"  she  said  sweetly.  "I  hope 
you  find  your  husband  sooner  than  I  find  mine!'* 

With  that  she  passed  out;  and  the  swing  door  closed 
behind  her.  All  the  light  went  with  her,  it  seemed  to 
Garth,  and  the  cabin  became  a  sordid,  spotty  little  hole. 
Mrs.  Pink  stared  at  the  door  through  which  she  had 
disappeared,  in  speechless  bewilderment.  Finally  she 
turned  to  Garth. 

"  Wh-what  did  she  mean  ?"  she  stammered. 

"I  do  not  know  the  young  lady,"  said  Garth  sadly. 

"Good  land,  man!"  screamed  Mrs.  Pink.  "Why 
didn't  you  say  so  at  first?'* 


II 

THE  UNKNOWN  LADY 

GARTH  PEVENSEY  was  a  reporter  on  the 
New  York  Leader.  His  choice  of  an  occupa- 
tion had  been  made  more  at  the  dictate  of 
circumstances  than  of  his  free  will;  and  in  the  round 
hole  of  modern  journalism  he  was  something  of  a  square 
and  stubborn  peg.  He  had  become  a  reporter  because 
he  had  no  taste  for  business;  and  a  newspaper  office 
is  the  natural  refuge  for  clever  young  men  with  a 
modicum  of  education,  and  the  need  of  providing  an 
income.  He  was  not  considered  a  "star"  on  the 
force;  and  his  city  editor  had  been  known  to  tear  his 
hair  at  the  missed  opportunities  in  Pevensey's  copy, 
and  hand  it  to  one  of  the  more  glowing  stylists  for  the 
injection  of  "ginger."  But  Garth  had  his  revenge  in 
the  result;  the  gingerized  phrases  in  his  quiet  narrative 
cried  aloud,  like  modern  gingerbread  work  on  a  goodly 
old  dwelling. 

It  was  agreed  in  the  office  that  Pevensey  was  too 
quiet  ever  to  make  a  crack  reporter.  On  a  big  story 
full  of  human  interest  he  was  no  good.  It  was  not 
that  he  failed  to  realize  the  possibilities  of  such  stories; 


14  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

he  had  as  sure  an  eye  for  the  picturesque  and  affecting 
as  Dicky  Chatworth  himself,  the  city  editor's  especial 
favourite;  but  he  had  an  unconquerable  repugnance  to 
"  letting  himself  go."  Moreover  his  stuff  was  suspected 
of  having  a  literary  quality,  something  that  is  respected 
but  not  desired  in  a  newspaper  office.  Howbeit,  there 
were  some  things  Garth  could  do  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction of  the  powers;  he  might  be  depended  on  for 
an  effective  description  of  any  big  show,  when  the 
readers'  tear-ducts  were  not  to  be  laid  under  contribu- 
tion; he  had  an  undeniable  way  with  him  of  impressing 
the  great  and  the  near-great;  and  had  occasionally 
been  surprisingly  successful  in  extracting  information 
from  the  supposedly  uninterviewable. 

Though  his  brilliancy  might  be  discounted,  Pevensey 
was  one  of  the  most  looked-up-to,  and  certainly  the 
best-liked  man  on  the  staff.  He  was  entirely  unassum- 
ing for  one  thing;  and  though  he  had  the  reputation 
of  leading  rather  a  saintly  life  himself,  he  was  as 
tolerant  as  Jove;  and  the  giddy  youngsters  who  came 
and  went  on  the  staff  of  the  Leader  with  such  frequency 
liked  to  confide  their  escapades  to  him,  sure  of  being 
received  with  an  interest  which  might  pass  very  well 
for  sympathy.  It  was  with  the  very  young  ones  that 
he  was  most  popular;  he  took  on  himself  no  irritating 
airs  of  superiority;  he  was  a  good  listener;  and  he 
never  flew  off  the  handle.  Such  a  man  has  the  effect  of 
a  refreshing  sedative  on  the  febrile  nerves  of  an  up-to- 
date  newspaper  office. 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  15 

Outside  the  office  Garth  led  an  uneventful  life.  He 
lived  with  his  mother  and  a  younger  brother  and  sister, 
and  ever  since  his  knickerbocker  days  he  had  been  the 
best  head  the  little  family  could  boast  of.  New 
York  is  full  of  young  men  like  Garth  who,  deprived 
of  the  kind  of  society  their  parents  were  accus- 
tomed to,  do  not  assimilate  readily  with  that 
which  is  open  to  all;  and  so  do  without  any.  Young, 
presentable  and  clever,  Garth  had  yet  never  had  a 
woman  for  a  friend.  Those  he  met  in  the  course  of 
a  reporter's  rounds  made  him  over-fastidious.  He 
had  erected  a  sky-scraping  ideal  of  fine  breeding  in 
women,  of  delicacy,  reserve  and  finish;  and  his  life 
hitherto  had  not  afforded  him  a  single  opportunity 
of  meeting  a  woman  who  could  anywhere  near  measure 
up  to  it.  That  was  his  little  private  grievance  with  Fate. 

Garth  came  of  a  family  of  sporting  and  military 
traditions,  which  he  had  inherited  in  full  force.  These, 
in  the  young  bread-winner  of  the  city,  had  had  to  be 
largely  repressed;  but  he  had  found  a  certain  outlet 
in  joining  a  militia  regiment,  in  which  he  had  at  length 
been  elected  an  officer.  He  had  a  passion  for  firearms; 
and  was  the  prize  sharpshooter  of  his  regiment.  Won- 
derful tales  were  related  of  his  prowess. 

When  the  Leader  was  invited  to  send  a  representative 
on  the  excursion  of  press  correspondents,  which  an 
enterprising  immigration  agency  purposed  conducting 
through  the  Canadian  Northwest,  Garth  was  chosen 
to  go  —  most  unexpectedly  to  himself,  and  to  the  higher- 


16  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

paid  men  on  the  staff.  This  trip  put  an  entirely 
new  colour  on  Garth's  existence.  He  had  always 
felt  a  secret  longing  to  travel,  to  wander  under 
strange  skies,  and  observe  new  sides  of  life.  From 
the  very  start  of  the  journey  he  found  himself  in 
a  state  of  pleasant  exhilaration  which  was  reflected 
in  the  copy  he  sent  back  to  his  paper.  Pevensey's 
articles  on  the  West  made  a  distinct  hit.  The 
editors  of  the  Leader  did  not  tell  him  so;  but  in  the 
very  silence  from  New  York  that  followed  him,  he 
knew  he  had  found  favour  in  their  eyes;  and  he  felt 
the  delicious  gratification  of  one  who  has  been 
unappreciated. 

When  the  excursion,  lapped  in  the  luxury  of  a  private 
car  (nothing  can  be  too  good  for  those  who  are  going 
to  publish  their  opinions  of  you),  reached  Prince  George, 
the  outermost  point  of  their  wide  swing  around  the 
country,  the  good  people  of  the  town  outdid  themselves 
in  entertaining  the  correspondents.  Among  the 
festivities,  a  large  public  reception  gave  the  cor- 
respondents and  the  leading  men  of  the  country  the 
opportunity  to  become  acquainted.  To  Garth  the 
most  interesting  man  present  was  the  Bishop  of  Miwasa. 
His  Lordship  was  a  retiring  man  in  vestments  a  thought 
shabby;  and  the  other  correspondents  overlooked  him. 
But  Garth  had  heard  by  accident  that  the  Bishop's 
annual  tour  of  his  diocese  included  a  trip  of  fifteen 
hundred  miles  by  canoe  and  pack-train  through  the 
wilderness;  and  he  scented  a  story.  The  Bishop  was 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  17 

one  of  those  incorrigibly  modest  men  who  are  the 
despair  of  interviewers;  but  Garth  stuck  to  him,  and 
got  the  story  in  the  end.  It  was  the  best  sent  out  of 
Prince  George  on  that  trip. 

During  the  five  days  the  correspondents  spent  there, 
the  quiet  Garth  and  the  quiet  Bishop  became  fast 
friends  over  innumerable  pipes  at  the  Athabasca  Club. 
They  discovered  a  common  liking  for  the  same  brand 
of  tobacco,  which  created  a  strong  bond.  Garth  was 
entranced  by  the  Bishop's  matter-of-fact  stories  of  his 
long  journeys  through  the  wilderness  during  the 
delightful  summers,  and  in  the  rigorous  winters;  and 
the  upshot  was,  the  Bishop  asked  him  to  join  him 
in  his  forthcoming  tour  of  the  diocese,  which  was  to 
start  from  Miwasa  Landing  on  the  first  of  August. 

Garth  jumped  at  the  opportunity;  and  telegraphing 
lengthily  to  his  paper  to  set  forth  the  rich  copy  that 
was  pining  to  be  gathered  in  the  North,  prayed  for 
permission  to  go.  He  received  a  brief  answer,  allowing 
him  two  months'  leave  of  absence  for  the  journey 
at  his  own  risk  and  expense;  and  promising  to  purchase 
what  of  his  stuff  might  be  suitable,  at  space  rates. 
This  was  precisely  what  he  wanted;  it  meant  two 
months'  liberty.  By  the  time  he  received  it,  the  excur- 
sion had  left  Prince  George  behind;  and  was  turned 
homeward.  Garth  dropped  off  at  a  way  station  and 
made  his  way  back,  this  time  without  any  fetes  to  greet 
his  arrival.  He  caught  the  Bishop  as  he  was  starting 
for  the  Landing;  and  it  was  arranged  Garth  should 


18  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

follow  him  by  stage,  three  days  later.     Meantime  he 
was  to  purchase  an  outfit. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  following  his  luncheon 
at  Papps's,  Garth,  in  his  room  at  the  hotel,  was  packing 
in  a  characteristically  masculine  fashion,  preparatory 
to  his  start  for  the  North  woods  next  day. 

It  would  have  been  patent  to  an  infant  that  he 
had  something  on  his  mind.  He  was  not  thinking  of 
the  romantic  journey  that  lay  before  him;  that  prospect, 
so  exhilarating  the  past  few  days,  had,  upon  the  eve  of 
realization,  lost  its  savour.  He  would  actually  have 
welcomed  an  excuse  to  postpone  it  for  a  few  days  —  so 
that  he  might  spend  a  little  more  money  at  Papps's. 
It  was  a  pair  of  flashing  blue  eyes  —  for  blue  eyes  do 
flash,  though  they  be  not  customarily  chosen  to  illus- 
trate that  capacity  of  the  human  orb  —  which  had 
disturbed  his  peace.  He  was  very  much  dissatisfied 
with  the  part  he  had  played  at  luncheon  the  day 
before.  What  he  ought  to  have  said  and  done  was  now 
distressingly  clear  to  him;  and  he  craved  an  opportunity 
to  put  it  into  practice.  He  had  spent  the  whole 
middle  part  of  this  day  at  Papps's,  loitering  in  the 
entrance  to  make  sure  the  blue  eyes  should  not  be 
swallowed  in  one  of  the  cabins  without  his  knowledge; 
but  they  had  not  illumined  the  place;  nor  had  his 
cautious  inquiries  elicited  a  single  clue  to  the  identity 
of  the  possessor.  He  felt  sure  if  he  had  three  days 
more  in  Prince  George  he  could  discover  her:  but 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  19 

unfortunately  the  weekly  stage  for  the  North  left  the 
following  morning;  and  the  Bishop  was  waiting  for 
him  at  the  Landing;  likewise  the  Leader  back  in  New 
York  was  waiting  for  stories  —  and  not  about  blue  eyes. 
It  was  at  this  point  in  his  circular  train  of  reflections 
that  he  would  resume  packing  with  a  gusty  sigh. 
He  was  interrupted  by  a  knock  on  the  door,  and, 
upon  opening  it,  was  not  a  little  astonished  to  receive 
a  note  from  the  hands  of  a  boy,  who  signified  his 
intention  of  waiting  for  an  answer.  It  was  contained 
in  a  thick,  square  envelope  with  a  crest  on  the  flap; 
and  was  addressed  in  a  tall,  angular,  feminine  hand. 
Garth,  his  mind  ever  running  in  the  same  course,  tore 
it  open  with  a  crazy  hope  in  his  heart;  but  the  first 
words  brought  him  sharply  back  to  earth. 

"  Will  Mr.  Garth  Pevensey,"  thus  it  ran,  "  be  good  enough  to  oblige 
an  old  lady  by  calling  at  the  Bristol  Hotel  this  evening  ?  Mrs.  Mabyn 
will  be  awaiting  him  in  the  parlour;  and  as  it  concerns  a  matter  of 
supreme  importance  to  her,  she  trusts  he  will  not  fail  her;  no  matter 
how  late  the  hour  at  which  he  may  be  able  to  come." 

Garth  dismissed  the  boy  with  a  message  to  the  effect 
that  he  would  answer  the  note  in  person.  As  he 
leisurely  put  his  appearance  in  order,  he  thought: 
"Verily  one's  adventures  begin  upon  leaving  home." 
He  was  human,  consequently  his  curiosity  was 
pleasantly  stimulated  to  discover  what  lay  before  him: 
but  the  little  adjective  in  the  first  sentence  of  his  appel- 
lant's letter  was  fatal  to  the  idea  of  any  violent  enthusi- 
asm on  her  behalf. 


20  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  parlour  of  the  Bristol  Hotel  was  on  the  first 
floor  above  the  street  level.  Garth  paused  at  the 
door;  and  cast  a  glance  about  the  room.  It  was  empty 
except  for  two  figures  at  the  further  end.  The  one 
he  could  see  more  plainly  was  an  old  lady  sitting  in 
an  easy-chair;  she  was  dressed  in  black,  with  a  white 
cap  and  white  wristbands;  a  spare,  erect  little  lady. 
Garth  judged  her  to  be  the  writer  of  the  note.  The 
other  figure,  also  a  woman,  was  partly  hidden  in  a 
window  embrasure.  She  was  standing  by  the  window 
holding  the  curtain  back  with  one  hand,  and  looking 
into  the  street.  She  turned  her  head  to  speak  to  the 
old  lady;  whereupon  Garth's  heart  leapt  in  his  bosom, 
the  room  rocked,  and  the  chandeliers  burst  into  song; 
that  clear  profile,  that  slender  figure  could  belong  to 
none  in  Prince  George  but  Her!  He  was  overcome 
with  delight  and  amazement;  he  could  scarcely  credit 
his  eyes.  He  wished  in  the  same  instant  he  had  spent 
more  care  on  his  appearance,  and  that  he  had  not  kept 
them  waiting  so  long. 

The  younger  lady  perceived  him  standing  in  the 
shadowy  doorway,  and  came  toward  him. 

"  Mr.  Pevensey  ?"  she  began  in  a  voice  of  cool  inquiry. 
Then  she  stopped  aghast;  and  the  colour  flamed  into 
her  face.  "You!"  she  exclaimed  in  a  voice  too  low 
to  reach  the  older  woman's  ears.  "Oh,  I  didn't 
know  —  I  never  suspected  it  might  be  you!" 

Garth  was  conscious  of  a  complicated  feeling  of 
irritation,  a  kind  of  jealousy  of  himself.  "Why  did 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  21 

they  send  for  me,  if  they  didn't  know  it  was  me?" 
was  his  thought. 

"What  must  you  think  of  me  ?"  she  said  in  obvious 
distress. 

"I  am  in  the  dark,"  said  Garth  helplessly. 

She  recovered  her  forces.  "I  am  not  in  the  habit 
of  going  to  restaurants  alone/'  she  said.  "But  the 
hotel  here  is  so  bad!  I  am  afraid  you  must  think 
me  a  frivolous  person,  and  I  am  anxious  you  should 
not  think  so. " 

"I  don't,"  said  Garth  bluntly. 

She  smiled.  "Very  well,"  she  said;  "then  there's 
no  harm  done." 

"Natalie!"  called  the  old  lady,  with  a  hint  of 
irritation. 

"Come  and  meet  Mrs.  Mabyn,"  she  said  quickly; 
and  led  the  way. 

"This  is   Mr.   Pevensey,   Mrs.   Mabyn,"  she  said. 

The  old  lady  regarded  Garth  with  a  sharp  scrutiny; 
and  Garth  looked  with  interest  at  her.  She  was  a 
fragile,  elegant,  plaintive  little  person  of  the  old  "  lady- 
like" regime;  but  for  all  her  gentleness,  Garth  was 
somehow  conscious  that  he  faced  a  woman  of  an  iron 
will.  She  had  the  impatient,  inattentive  manner  of 
one  possessed  by  a  single  idea.  With  the  result  of  her 
examination  she  appeared  but  half  satisfied;  she  held 
out  a  delicate,  wrinkled  hand,  dubiously. 

"How  do  you  do?"  she  said.     "Please  sit  down." 

"I  am  Natalie  Bland,"  further  explained  the  girl, 


22 

who  had  again  retreated  to  the  window  embrasure. 
"Mrs.  Mabyn  and  I  are  travelling  together." 

"Dear  Natalie  is  a  daughter  to  me,"  murmured 
Mrs.  Mabyn  with  commendable  feeling. 

The  two  women  exchanged  a  glance  which  Garth 
was  at  a  loss  to  interpret.  He  was  looking  at  Natalie 
and  he  thought  he  saw  patience,  real  affection,  and 
perhaps  a  little  kindly  amusement  —  but  there  was 
something  beyond;  something  grimmer  and  more 
determined,  a  hint  of  rebellion. 

"My  husband,  Canon  Mabyn,  was  the  rector  of 
Christ's  Church  Cathedral  in  Millerton,  Ontario,  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,"  murmured  Mrs.  Mabyn  in 
her  dulcet  tones,  with  the  air  of  one  delivering  all- 
sufficient  credentials. 

Garth  murmured  to  show  that  he  was  suitably 
impressed. 

"You  are  from  New  York,  I  believe,"  said  Mrs. 
Mabyn. 

Garth  acknowledged  the  fact. 

"So  the  newspaper  said,"  she  remarked.  "Of 
course,  I  know  very  few  Americans,  still  it  is  possible 
we  may  have  common  friends.  You  —  er  -  She 
paused  invitingly. 

"Hadn't  we  better  explain  why  we  asked  Mr.  Pev- 
ensey  to  call  ?"  put  in  Natalie  quietly. 

"My  dear,  Mr.  Pevensey  was  just  about  to  tell  me 
of  his  people,"  Mrs.  Mabyn  said  in  tones  of  gentle 
reproof. 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  23 

Garth  saw  what  the  old  lady  would  be  after.  "My 
father,  Lieutenant  Raymond  Pevensey,  was  in  the 
Navy/'  he  said.  "He  was  killed  by  a  powder 
explosion  on  the  gunboat  Arkadelphia,  twelve  years 
ago." 

"Dear  me,  how  unfortunate!"  murmured  Mrs. 
Mabyn  sympathetically;  but  it  rang  chillingly,  and 
her  abstracted  eyes  dwelt  throughout  upon  that  relent- 
less thought  of  hers,  whatever  it  was. 

"I  am  related  distantly  to  the  Buhannons  of 
Richmond,  and  the  Mainwarings  of  Philadelphia," 
continued  Garth,  willing  to  humour  her. 

"There  was  a  Mainwaring  at  Chelsea  with  my 
hisband  as  a  boy,"  remarked  Mrs.  Mabyn. 

"Probably  my  great-uncle,"  he  said.  "In  this 
part  of  the  world,"  he  went  on,  "there  is  no  one  who 
knows  me  beyond  mere  acquaintanceship,  except  the 
Bishop  of  Miwasa  - 

"?ray  say  no  more,  Mr.  Pevensey,"  interrupted 
Mrs^  Mabyn.  "The  mere  fact  that  the  Bishop  invited 
you  io  accompany  him  is,  after  all,  sufficient."  She 
turne}  to  the  girl.  "You  may  continue,  dear  Natalie." 

"^p  read  in  this  evening's  paper,"  began  that 
youngJady  with  a  directness  refreshing  after  Mrs. 
Mabyrfs  circumlocutions;  "that  you  were  starting  for 
Miwasi  Landing  to-morrow  morning,  to  join  the 
Bishop  bn  his  annual  tour.  We  wished  particularly 
to  see  ym  before  you  started;  and  that  is  why  I  - 
why  Mrs  Mabyn  wrote." 


24  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"We  thank  you  for  coming  so  promptly,"  put  in 
Mrs.  Mabyn  with  her  gracious  air. 

Garth  murmured  truthfully  that  the  pleasure  was 
his.  He  felt  himself  on  the  breathless  verge  of  a  dis- 
covery. Intuition  warned  him  of  what  was  coming; 
but  he  could  not  believe  it  yet. 

"  Mr.  Pevensey,"  resumed  the  young  lady  as  if  with 
an  effort;  she  had  the  humility  of  a  proud  soul  who 
stoops  to  ask  a  favour;  "we  are  going  to  make  a  very 
strange  request,  as  from  total  strangers." 

Mrs.  Mabyn  raised  an  agitated  hand.  "Wat, 
wait,  my  dear  Natalie,"  she  objected.  "Perhaps 
after  all,  we  had  better  go  no  further.  I  —  I  think 
we  had  better  give  the  plan  up,"  she  said  in  apparently 
the  deepest  distress. 

The  girl  turned  a  patient  shoulder,  and  looked  into 
the  street  again,  abstractedly  playing  with  the  co'd  of 
the  blind. 

"  It  is  really  too  much  to  ask  of  you,"  continuec  Mrs. 
Mabyn  distressfully;  "and  I  am  so  afraid  for  Natalie! 
Natalie  is  so  very  dear  to  me.  The  situatioi  is  so 
unusual !"  she  wailed. 

Poor  Garth  was  sadly  perplexed  and  exaperated 
by  all  this.  The  discovery  he  anticipated  \as  now 
apparently  in  retreat. 

"We  are  glad,  anyway,  to  have  had  the  p^asure  of 
making  your  acquaintance,"  said  Mrs.  Mabvi  with  an 
air  of  finality. 

Suddenly  it  was  borne  in  upon  Garth,  parly  from  the 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  25 

girl's  patient  attitude,  partly  from  the  other's  emphasis 
upon  her  distress,  that  it  was  simply,  in  newspaper 
parlance,  all  a  bluff  on  the  part  of  the  older  woman. 
Her  fanatic  eyes  seemed  to  tell  him  that  she  was  still 
bent  on  her  object,  whatever  it  might  be.  Experience 
had  taught  him  that  the  quickest  way  to  find  out  if 
he  were  right  was  to  seem  to  fall  in  with  her  desire. 
So  he  promptly  rose  as  if  to  leave.  It  worked. 

Mrs.  Mabyn's  eyes  snapped.  She  did  not  relish 
being  taken  up  so  quickly.  "One  moment,  Mr. 
Pevensey,"  she  said  plaintively  —  and  hastily.  "  Over- 
look the  distraction  of  an  old  woman;  I  am  torn  two 
ways!" 

Garth  understood  by  this  that  the  matter  was 
reopened;  and  sat  down  again.  There  was  a  pause, 
while  the  old  lady  struggled,  with  the  air  of  a  martyr, 
to  regain  her  composure.  The  girl  continued  to  look 
stolidly  out  of  the  window;  and  Garth  simply  waited 
for  what  was  coming. 

"You. may  continue,  Natalie,"  said  Mrs.  Mabyn  at 
length,  faintly. 

The  girl  resumed  her  explanation  at  the  exact  point 
where  she  left  off.  "  We  expected  —  that  is,  we  hoped 
you  were  an  older  man  -  Garth  looked  so  dis- 
appointed she  immediately  added:  "For  that  would 
make  the  request  seem  less  strange."  She  hesitated. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Garth. 

But  she  parried  awhile.  "What  sort  of  a  man  is 
the  Bishop  ?"  she  asked. 


26  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Garth  described  his  modesty  and  his  manliness. 

"A  very  proper  person  to  be  Bishop  in  a  wild  coun- 
try/' remarked  Mrs.  Mabyn,  patronizingly. 

"And  his  wife  ?"  asked  Natalie. 

Garth  pictured  a  homely,  unassuming  body,  with 
a  great  heart. 

"Of  course!"  said  Mrs.  Mabyn.  A  whole  chapter 
might  be  devoted  to  the  analysis  of  the  tone  in  which 
she  said  it. 

"We  had  heard  she  accompanies  her  husband,"  said 
Natalie. 

"Yes,"  said  Garth. 

"That  simplifies  matters!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Mabyn. 

"Their  route  takes  in  Spirit  River  Crossing,  I 
believe,"  pursued  Natalie. 

Garth  affirmed  it,  wondering. 

Natalie  paused  before  she  went  on.  "Whatever 
you  may  think  of  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you,  Mr. 
Pevensey,"  she  said  with  the  same  proud  appeal  in  her 
voice,  "we  may  count  on  you,  I  am  sure,  not  to  speak 
of  it  to  any  one  for  the  present." 

"Indeed  you  may!"  he  said  warmly. 

"I  am  obliged  to  get  to  Spirit  River  Crossing  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment,"  she  said  simply. 

Through  the  wilderness  with  her!  Garth  had  to 
wait  a  moment  before  he  could  trust  himself  to  reply 
with  becoming  coolness. 

"Have  you  considered  the  kind  of  a  journey  it  is?" 
he  asked  quietly. 


THE    UNKNOWN    LADY  27 

"That  is  the  worst  of  it!"  complained  Mrs.  Mabyn. 
"I  had  expected  to  go  with  her;  but  we  find  it  is  out  of 
the  question." 

Garth  hastened  to  assure  her  that  it  was. 

"I  have  considered  everything,"  said  Natalie. 

"  But  do  you  know  that  you  will  have  to  travel 
two  or  three  weeks  in  an  open  boat  in  all  weathers,  a 
mere  canoe  in  fact;  that  you  will  have  to  sleep  out  of 
doors,  and  live  on  the  very  roughest  of  fare  ?  Could 
you  stand  it?"  he  demanded  almost  sternly. 

"I  am  perfectly  well  and  strong,"  answered  Natalie. 

"That  is  quite  so,  happily,"  said  Mrs.  Mabyn. 
"Otherwise,  I  would  not  hear  of  it  for  a  moment." 

"If  the  Bishop's  wife  can  stand  it,  certainly  I  can," 
said  Natalie. 

"But  she  is  obliged  to  do  it,"  said  Garth. 

"So  am  I!"  said  Natalie  quickly. 

There  was  an  awkward  pause.  Garth  said  noth- 
ing, but  his  question  was  felt. 

"Naturally  you  wonder  what  forces  me  to  under- 
take such  a  journey,"  said  Natalie  uncomfortably. 

"Couldn't  I  help  you  more  intelligently  if  I  knew?" 
suggested  Garth. 

"But  I  cannot  tell  you,"  she  said.  "That  is,  not 
yet.  Believe  me,  it  is  nothing  I  need  be  ashamed 
of-  -" 

"Natalie!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Mabyn  indignantly. 
"  Is  it  not  I  who  urge  you  to  go  ? " 

"Yes,  I  am  doing  what  will  be  considered  a  most 


28  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

praiseworthy  thing,"  said  Natalie  with  what  sounded 
strangely    like  —  bitterness. 

"Yes,  indeed!"  urged  Mrs.  Mabyn,  who  seemed  to 
have  forgotten  her  late  anxiety  on  Natalie's  account. 

"But  in  telling  you,"  objected  Natalie  gently,  "I 
would  have  to  trust  you  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  you 
would  be  trusting  me,  in  lending  me,  without  knowing 
my  reasons,  the  assistance  of  one  traveller  to  another." 

Garth  was  ready  enough  to  throw  himself  at  her 
feet  without  this  affecting  appeal.  "  Please  count  on 
me,"  he  said,  moved  more  than  he  would  let  them  see, 
especially  the  old  woman.  "How  can  I  help  you  ?" 

"See  me  as  far  as  Miwasa  Landing,"  she  said  sim- 
ply. "I  will  then  throw  myself  on  the  goodness  of  the 
Bishop  and  his  wife;  and  trust  to  them  to  take  me 
with  them  the  rest  of  the  way  —  that  is,  if  I  wish  to  go. 
The  Bishop  may  be  able  to  give  me  information,"  she 
added  darkly. 

"Natalie!"  put  in  Mrs.  Mabyn,  warningly.     "I- 
I  will  give  her  letters  to  those  good  people,"  she  added 
hastily,  to  divert  Garth's  mind  from  the  strangeness  of 
Natalie's  last  words. 

But  Garth  was  in  no  temper  to  be  deflected  by  a 
mystery.  "I  am  thankful  for  the  chance  to  be  of 
service,"  he  said  fervently,  having  a  keen  sense  of  the 
poverty  of  words. 

"Thank  you,"  said  Natalie,  simply.  "Let  us  talk 
of  ways  and  means,"  she  added  decisively.  "What 
should  I  take?" 


Ill 

ON  THE  TRAIL 

A  A  quarter  to  eight  next  morning  Garth  was 
waiting   again   in  the    parlour  of  the  Bristol 
Hotel.     Promptly  to  the  minute  Natalie  came 
sailing  in,  in  her  own  inimitable  way,  walking  all  of 
a  piece,  with  a  sweep  like  a  banner,  Garth  thought. 
When  he  saw  her,  his  last  doubt  of  the  reality  of  this 
intoxicating    journey    vanished.     She    bore    no    trace 
now  of  the  seriousness  of  the  night  before;    all  smiles 
and  red-cheeked  eagerness,  she  radiated  the  very  joy 
of  being. 

"Enter  Mrs.  Pink!"   she  cried. 

She  had  a  brown  valise,  a  fat  bundle,  a  flat,  square 
package  wrapped  in  paper,  a  coat  and  a  parasol. 

"You  said  trunks  were  taboo,"  she  explained.  "I 
only  had  one  valise  and  I  couldn't  nearly  get  every- 
thing in.  Indeed  I  sat  up  half  the  night  studying  how 
little  I  could  do  with." 

"We'll  get  you  a  duffle-bag  at  the  Landing,"  he 
said. 

"Am  I  suitably  dressed?"  she  demanded,  showing 
herself. 

39 


30  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Garth  smiled.  She  was  perfection;  how  could  he 
blame  her  ?  She  had  interpreted  his  suggestions 
as  to  sober,  serviceable  clothes,  in  a  diabolically  well- 
fitting  suit  of  brown,  the  colour  of  her  hair.  At  the 
wrists  and  neck  of  her  brown-silk  waist  were  spotless 
bands  of  white;  and  on  her  head  was  a  dashing  little 
brown  hat  with  green  wings.  She  exhibited  square- 
toed  little  brown  boots  as  an  evidence  of  exceeding 
common  sense;  and  was  pulling  on  a  pair  of  absurdly 
small  boy's  gloves.  This  most  suitable  costume  for 
the  North  was  completed  by  a  brown-silk  parasol. 
"All  in  place  and  well  tied  down,"  she  announced. 
"Nothing  to  fly  or  catch!" 

Garth  pictured  to  himself  the  effect  likely  to  be 
created  in  the  wilderness  by  this  adorable  acme  of  the 
feminine,  with  something  between  a  smile  and  a  groan. 
They  walked  to  the  post  office,  quaffing  deep  of 
the  delicious  morning  air,  Garth  glancing  sidewise 
at  his  exuberant  companion,  and  wondering,  like  the 
old  lady  in  the  nursery  rhyme,  if  this  could  really  be 
he.  It  was  a  day  to  make  one  walk  a-tiptoe;  the 
sky  overhead  bloomed  with  the  exquisite  pale  tints 
of  a  Northern  summer's  morning;  and  the  bricks  of 
Oliver  Avenue  were  washed  with  gold. 

Natalie's  face  fell  a  little  at  the  sight  of  the  stage- 
coach; for  it  had  nothing  in  common  with  the  imagined 
vehicle  of  romance  except  the  four  horses;  and  they 
were  but  sorry  beasts.  In  fact,  it  was  nothing 
but  a  clumsy,  uncovered  wagon,  which  had  never 


ONTHETRAIL  31 

been  washed  since  it  was  built;  and  was  worn  to 
a  dull  drab  in  a  long  acquaintance  with  the  alter- 
nating mud  and  dust  of  the  trail.  Behind  the  driver's 
seat  was  a  sort  of  well,  for  the  mail  bags  and  express 
packages;  and  behind  that,  two  excruciatingly  narrow 
seats  for  the  passengers,  running  lengthwise  between 
the  rear  wheels.  The  entrance  was  by  a  step  at  the 
tail-board. 

Everything  awaited  the  word  to  start.  The  driver, 
whip  in  hand,  stood  by  the  front  wheel  surrounded 
by  a  group  of  idlers;  and  his  two  great  mongrel 
huskies,  squatted  on  the  pavement  with  expectant 
eyes  on  their  master.  Garth  helped  Natalie  into  the 
body  of  the  wagon;  and,  climbing  in  after  her,  disposed 
her  baggage  with  his  own  already  in  the  well.  The 
eyes  of  the  driver  and  all  his  satellites  were  promptly 
transferred  in  wide  wonder  to  the  girl  with  the  green 
wings  in  her  hat.  Garth,  with  a  keen  sense  of  diffi- 
culties ahead,  was  indignant  and  uncomfortable;  but 
Natalie,  serenely  conscious  that  everything  was  in 
place,  dropped  her  hands  in  her  lap,  and  chatted 
away,  as  if  quite  unaware  of  her  conspicuousness. 

Garth  had  put  Natalie  in  the  right-hand  corner  of 
the  little  cockpit.  Another  woman  passenger  was 
already  in  place  opposite;  and  the  aspect  of  this  lady 
made  an  additional  element  in  his  uneasiness.  She, 
too,  was  gotten  up  bravely  according  to  her  lights. 
She  seemed  something  under  forty,  tall  and  angular; 
her  hair,  a  crass  yellow,  was  tied  with  a  large  girlish 


32  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

bow  of  black  ribbon  behind;  and  in  her  cheeks  she  had 
crudely  striven  to  recall  the  hues  of  youth.  Around 
her  long  neck  another  black  ribbon  accentuated  the 
scrawny  lines  it  was  designed  to  hide;  and  on  top 
of  all  she  wore  a  wide  black  hat,  which  had  a  fresh 
yet  collapsed  effect,  as  if  it  had  long  been  cherished 
under  the  lid  of  a  trunk.  Her  knees  touched  Natalie's, 
and  Garth's  gorge  rose  at  her  nearness  to  his  precious 
charge  —  and  yet  the  antique  girl  greeted  them  with 
a  sort  of  anxious,  appealing  smile,  which  disarmed 
him  in  spite  of  himself. 

Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  the  door  of  the  post 
office  was  opened;  and  the  last  bag  of  mail  was  thrown 
into  the  stage.  Still  the  driver  made  no  move  to  climb 
into  his  seat;  and  Garth,  becoming  restless  as  the 
minutes  passed,  got  out  and  approached  him. 

"Good  morning,  driver,"  he  said,  while  the  bystand- 
ers stared  afresh.  "What's  the  delay?" 

He  gazed  at  Garth  with  a  mild  and  cautious  blue 
eye;  and  spat  deliberately  before  replying.  He  was 
one  of  those  withered  little  men,  with  a  shock  of  grizzled 
hair,  and  deeply  seamed  face  and  neck  and  hands, 
who  might  be  forty-five  or  seventy.  As  it  turned  out, 
Paul  Smiley  was  within  three  years  of  the  latter  figure. 
He  had  on  a  pearl  Fedora  very  much  over  one  ear,  a 
new  suit  of  store  clothes  with  a  mighty  watch  chain, 
and  new  boots,  which  seemed  like  little  souls  put 
to  torment  —  they  screeched  horribly  whenever  he 
moved. 


ON    THE    TRAIL  33 

"I  couldn't  start  off  and  leave  Nick  Grylls,"  he 
said  deprecatingly.  "He  has  spoke  for  two  seats." 

Garth  was  sensible  that  he  was  hearing  a  great 
man's  name. 

"I  tell  you  it  ain't  often  Nick  Grylls  travels  by  the 
stage,"  continued  Smiley,  addressing  the  bystanders 
impressively.  "  He  hires  a  rig  and  a  team  and  a  driver 
to  take  him  to  the  Landing,  be  does." 

"Who  is  this  Mr.  Grylls?"  asked  Garth,  pursuing 
the  reporter's  instinct. 

"Don't  know  Nick  Grylls!"  exclaimed  old  Paul, 
exchanging  a  wondering  glance  around  the  circle. 
"You  must  be  a  stranger!  Nick  Grylls  is  a  wonderful 
bright  man,  wonderful!  He's  the  biggest  free-trader 
in  the  North  country;  trades  down  Lake  Miwasa 
way.  Wonderful  influence  with  the  natives;  does 
what  he  wants  with  them.  I  tell  you  there  ain't  much 
north  of  the  Landing  Nick  Grylls  ain't  in  on.  Here 
he  comes  now!  All  aboard!" 

As  Garth  resumed  his  seat  by  Natalie  he  saw  a  burly, 
broad-shouldered  figure  hurrying  along  the  sidewalk; 
he  saw  under  the  wide,  stiff-brimmed  hat,  a  red  face 
with  an  insolent,  all-conquering  expression,  and  fat 
lips  rolling  a  big  cigar.  There  followed  after,  a  young 
breed  staggering  under  the  weight  of  a  Gladstone 
bag,  which  matched  its  owner.  Arrived  at  the  stage, 
Nick  Grylls  flung  a  thick  word  of  greeting  to  the 
bystanders,  and  taking  the  bag  from  the  boy,  threw 
it  among  the  mail  bags  as  one  tosses  a  pillow;  and 


34  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

climbed  into  the  seat  by  the  driver.  The  breed 
sprang  on  the  step  behind;  another  passenger  took 
the  place  opposite  Garth;  old  Paul  cracked  his  whip 
and  shouted  to  his  horses;  the  dogs  leaped  and  barked 
madly;  and  the  Royal  Mail  swung  away  to  the  North 
with  its  oddly  assorted  company. 

As  they  rattled  through  the  suburbs  the  fat  back 
on  the  front  seat  shifted  heavily;  and  the  red  face  was 
turned  on  them. 

"Hello,  old  Nell !"   shouted  Nick. 

The  woman  simpered  unhappily.  "How's  your- 
self, Mr.  Grylls  ?"  she  returned. 

"Fine!"   he  bellowed  from  his  deep  chest. 

This  little  manoeuvre  in  the  front  seat  was  merely 
fomhe  purpose  of  obtaining  a  prolonged  stare  at  Nata- 
lie. The  insolence  of  the  little,  swimming,  pig-eyes 
infuriated  Garth.  The  young  man  opposite  him  too, 
a  sullen,  scowling  bravo,  was  staring  boldly  at  Natalie. 
Garth  stiffened  himself  to  play  a  difficult  part. 

"I  feel  like  a  rare,  exotic  bird,"  whispered  Natalie 
in  his  ear. 

"You  are,"  he  returned  grimly.  "I  think  it  would 
be  better  if  you  did  not  speak  my  name,"  he  added. 
"I  will  not  address  you  by  yours.  We  must  be  pre- 
pared to  parry  questions." 

"I  will  be  careful,"  she  said. 

To  do  him  justice,Nick  Grylls,  on  a  close  examination 
of  Natalie,  had  the  grace  to  feel  a  little  ashamed  of 
his  rough  outburst.  He  altered  his  features  to  what 


ONTHETRAIL  35 

he  thought  was  a  genteel  expression;  but  Garth  called 
it  a  leer. 

"  Bully  day  for  our  trip,"  he  said. 

They  all  agreed  in  various  tones;  even  Garth.  He 
knew  it  would  not  help  Natalie  for  him  to  start  by 
inviting  trouble. 

"You're  the  New  York  newspaper  man,"  said 
Grylls  to  Garth. 

"  That's  right,"  said  Garth  quietly. 

"They  tell  me  you're  going  to  write  up  the  country," 
said  Grylls;  exhibiting  that  curious  blend  of  suspicion, 
contempt  and  respect  his  kind  has  for  the  fellow  who 
writes.  "I  can  tell  you  quite  a  bit  about  the  country 
myself,"  he  added  with  a  braggadocio  air. 

Garth  thanked  him. 

"It's  an  onusual  trip  for  a  lady,"  continued  Grylls, 
cunningly  trying  to  draw  Natalie  into  the  conversation; 
"but  nothing  out  of  the  way  at  this  season.  The 
Bishop  travels  comfortable  enough;  separate  tent  for 
the  women;  and  an  ile  stove  like." 

His  move  was  not  successful;  Natalie  continued 
looking  charmingly  blank.  Old  Paul  created  a  diver- 
sion by  facing  them  with  a  confiding  smile.  The  pert 
Fedora  with  its  curly  brim  was  comically  ill-suited 
to  his  seamed  old  face,  and  mild  blue  eye.  He  pointed 
with  his  whip  down  a  road  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 

"My  place  is  down  there,"  he  said  simply.  "Just 
sold  it  last  week;  three  hundred  acres  at  three  hundred 
dollars  an  acre.  They're  layin'  it  out  in  town  lots." 


36  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"Good  God,  man!"  cried  Grylls.  "You  could 
buy  me  out  and  have  a  pile  over !"  Every  time  he  spoke, 
he  glanced  over  his  shoulder  at  Natalie. 

Old  Paul  smiled  up  at  him  admiringly.  "  But  this  is 
only  a  sort  of  accident,"  he  said.  "You  made  yours." 

"  What  in  he  —  Why  are  you  driving  the  stage, 
then?"  demanded  Grylls. 

"Well,"  said  the  old  man  slowly;  "seems  though 
I  just  got  in  the  way  of  it.  Seems  I  just  bad  to  keep 
hanging  on  to  the  ribbons,  or  lose  holt  altogether." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  all  that  money?" 
Grylls  wanted  to  know. 

"Well,"  said  Paul  with  a  quiet  grin;  "I  bought  me 
a  new  hat  like  the  swells  wear;  and  a  pair  of  Eastern 
shoes.  They  pinch  me  somepin'  cruel,  too." 

"Why  don't  you  travel  East,  Mr.  Smiley?"  sug- 
gested Nell.  She  whom  they  all  addressed  so  cava- 
lierly was  particular  to  put  a  handle  to  each  name. 

"Travel!  I  had  enough  o'  that,  my  girl,"  he  said. 
"Forty-five  years  ago  I  travelled  East  to  Winnipeg 
and  got  me  a  wife.  Brought  her  back  over  the  plains 
in  a  Red  River  cart.  Eight  hunder  miles,  and  hostile 
redskins  all  the  way!  What's  travellin'  nowadays!" 

"Were  you  born  out  here?"  asked  Garth,  shaping 
a  story  for  the  Leader  in  his  mind. 

"At  Howard  House,  west  of  here  in  the  Rockies," 
said  Paul.  "My  father  was  Hudson's  Bay  trader 
there." 

"Paul's  an  old-timer  all  right*"  said  Grylls  care- 


ONTHETRAIL  37 

lessly.  He  was  becoming  bored  with  the  trend  the 
conversation  was  taking. 

"One  of  the  first  eight  who  broke  ground  in  Prince 
George,"  said  the  old  man  proudly.  "Yonder's  the 
first  two-story  house  in  the  country.  I  built  it.  No!" 
he  continued  thoughtfully;  "I'm  keeping  my  house 
and  ten  acres;  and  me  and  the  old  woman's  calc'latin' 
to  stop  there  and  watch  the  march  o'  progress  by  our 
door.  She  wouldn't  give  up  her  front  step  for  all 
the  real-estate  sharks  in  Prince  George.  But,"  he 
added  with  a  chuckle,  "I  shouldn't  wonder  if  she  was 
shocked  some  when  them  trolley-cars  I  hear  tell  of 
goes  kitin'  by." 

"I  kin  understand  just  how  she  feels,"  remarked 
old  Nell  to  Natalie,  with  her  apologetic  little  smile. 
"What  could  take  the  place  of  a  home  with  real  nice 
things  in  it  ?  I  got  a  house  up  near  the  Landing  with 
a  carpet  in  every  room.  I  just  love  to  buy  things  for 
it.  You  see  I  never  had  what  you  might  call  a  regular 
house  until  just  lately.  This  trip  I  bought  a  pink- 
and-gold  chiny  washin'  set;  and  a  down  comfort  for 
the  best  room.  I  never  could  tire  of  fixin'  it  up.  We'll 
pass  there  to-morrow  afternoon.  I'd  just  love  to  have 
you  step  in  — " 

Grylls  laughed  boisterously. 

"Ah-h,  shut  up,  Nell!"  muttered  the  dark  young 
man  beside  her. 

"  Thank  you,  I'd  like  to  see  it/'  said  Natalie,  with 
a  flash  of  the  blue  eyes. 


38  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

They  had  now  left  the  town  behind;  and  were  rolling, 
or  rather  bumping,  over  the  prairie.  Here,  it  is  not  an 
empty  plain,  but  a  series  of  natural,  park-like  meadows, 
broken  by  graceful  clumps  of  poplar  and  willow.  On 
a  prairie  trail  when  the  wheels  begin  to  bite  through 
the  sod,  and  sink  into  ruts,  a  new  track  is  made  beside 
the  old  —  there  is  plenty  of  room;  and  in  turn  another 
and  another,  spreading  wide  on  each  side,  crossing 
and  interweaving  like  a  tangled  skein  of  black  cotton 
flung  down  in  the  green. 

Natalie  had  never  seen  such  luxuriant  greenness; 
such  diverse  and  plentiful  wild  flowers.  Nell  pointed 
out  the  brilliant  fire-weed,  blending  from  crimson  to 
purple,  the  wild  sunflower,  the  lovely  painted-cup, 
old-rose  in  colour;  and  there  were  other  strange  and 
showy  plants  she  could  not  name.  Occasionally  they 
passed  a  log  cabin,  gayly  whitewashed,  and  with  its 
sod  roof  sprouting  greenly.  These  dwellings,  though 
crude,  fulfilled  the  great  aim  of  architecture;  they  were 
a  part  of  the  landscape  itself. 

When  they  stopped  at  one  of  these  places  for  dinner, 
Garth  watched  Natalie  narrowly  to  see  how  she  would 
receive  her  first  taste  of  rough  fare.  But  far  from 
quailing  at  the  salt  pork,  beans  and  bitter  tea,  she 
ate  with  as  much  gusto  as  if  it  had  always  been  her 
portion.  "She'll  do,"  he  thought  approvingly. 

Afterward  as  they  toiled  up  a  long,  sandy  rise  in 
the  full  heat  of  the  afternoon  sun,  Paul,  the  old  dandy, 
had  leisure  while  his  horses  walked  to  devote  to  his 


ONTHETRAIL  39 

passengers.  He  was  pleased  as  a  child  at  the  interest 
shown  by  Garth  and  Natalie  in  his  anecdotes.  Turn- 
ing to  them  now,  he  pointed  to  a  high  mound  topped 
by  a  splendid  pine  standing  by  itself,  and  said: 

"Cannibal  Hill.  Used  to  be  an  Indian  called  Swift 
had  his  lodge  there.  A  fine  figger  of  a  man  too;  high- 
chested;  beautiful- muscled.  He  was  a  good  Indian; 
and  I  want  to  say  when  a  redskin  is  good,  he's  damn 
good  —  beg  pardon,  Miss —  he's  good  and  no  mistake, 
I  should  say.  He  has  a  high-minded  way  of  looking 
at  things,  which  ought  to  make  a  white  man  blush; 
but  it  don't;  for  them  kind  makes  the  softest  tradin'. 
I  been  a  trader  myself. 

"This  here  Swift  had  a  wife  and  ten  childer,  that 
he  thought  a  power  of.  He  hunted  for  'em  night  and 
day;  and  he  come  to  be  known  as  the  best  provider 
in  the  tribe.  Well,  come  one  winter  he  went  crazy; 
yes,  ma'am,  plumb  looney;  and  he  went  for  'em  with 
his  hatchet.  He  killed  and  et  'em  one  at  a  time,  begin- 
ning with  the  youngest;  while  the  others  waited  their 
turn.  You  see  an  old-fashioned  Indian  was  the  boss  of 
his  family;  and  they  didn't  dast  fight  him  back.  Right 
up  there  on  that  hill,  under  that  very  same  tree;  I  seen 
the  ashes  of  their  bones  myself.  In  the  Spring  he  come 
down  to  the  settlement  and  give  himself  up;  said  he 
didn't  want  to  live  no  more.  Shouldn't  think  he  would." 

Grylls  made  no  secret  of  his  impatience  with  the 
old  man's  yarns.  He  interrupted  him,  careless  of 
his  feelings. 


40  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"Are  you  making  the  round  trip  with  the  Bishop  ?" 
he  asked  Garth. 

Garth  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

"  I  have  a  rabbit-skin  robe  at  the  Landing  I'd  be  glad 
to  lend  the  lady,"  he  said  leering  sidewise  at  Natalie. 

"Much  obliged,"  said  Garth  agreeably;  "but  we 
really  have  all  we  can  use." 

"What  does  she  say  ?"   growled  Nick. 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  said  Natalie  quickly; 
"but  I  could  not  think  of  accepting  it." 

He  had  forced  her  to  speak  to  him  at  last;  but  the 
words  were  hardly  to  his  satisfaction.  He  flung 
around  in  his  seat  with  an  ugly  scowl. 

Meanwhile  old  Paul  was  still  pursuing  his  thoughts 
about  redskins.  "Indians  think  when  they  go  off 
their  heads  they're  obliged  to  be  cannibals,"  he  con- 
tinued agreeably.  "They  can't  separate  the  two  idees 
somehow.  So  when  a  redskin  feels  a  screw  beginning 
to  work  loose  up  above,  he  settles  on  a  nice,  fat,  tender 
subject.  He  says  his  head's  full  of  ice,  and  has  to  be 
melted.  I  mind  one  winter  at  Caribou  Lake  forty 
years  back,  we  were  all  nigh  starving,  and  our  bones 
was  comin'  through  our  skins,  like  ten-p'ny  nails  in 
a  paper  bag.  And  one  night  they  comes  snoopin' 
into  the  settlement  an  Indian  woman  as  sleek  and 
soft  and  greasy  as  a  fresh  sausage  —  and  lickin'  her 
chops  —  um  —  um!  There  was  a  man  with  her  and 
he  let  it  out.  She  had  knifed  two  young  half-breed 
widows,  as  fair  and  beautiful  a  two  girls  as  ever  I 


ONTHETRAIL  41 

see  —  and  she  et'em,  yes,  ma'am!  And  nobody  teched 
her;  they  warn't  no  police  in  them  days.  She  lives 
to  the  Lake  at  this  day!" 

"Good  Law!  Mr.  Smiley!"  cried  Nell  with  an 
uneasy  glance  at  the  grinning  half-breed  on  the  tail-step. 

"Keep  cool,  old  gal!"  growled  Nick.  "Nobody 
wouldn't  pick  you  out  for  a  square  meal!" 

Nell's  companion  rewarded  this  sally  with  an  enor- 
mous guffaw;  and  poor,  mortified  Nell  made  believe 
to  laugh  too.  Natalie's  cheeks  burned. 

"I  suppose  you  hunted  buffalo  in  the  old  days," 
said  Garth  to  old  Paul. 

"Sure,  I  was  quite  a  hunter,"  he  returned  with  a 
casual  air.  "It  weren't  everybody  as  was  considered 
a  hunter,  neither.  You  had  to  earn  your  reppytation. 
We  didn't  do  no  drivin'  over  cliffs  or  wholesale  slaugh- 
tering it  was  clean  huntin*  with  us,  powder  and  ball. 
I  mind  they  used  to  make  a  big  party,  as  high  as  two 
hundred  men,  whites,  breeds,  and  friendly  redskins. 
Everything  was  conducted  regular;  camp-guards  and 
a  council  and  a  captain  was  elected;  and  all  rules 
strict  observed.  Every  night  we  camped  inside  a 
barricade.  One  of  the  rules  was,  no  tough  old  bulls 
useless  for  meat  should  be  killed  under  penalty  of 
twenty-five  dollars.  I  was  had  up  before  the  council 
for  that;  but  I  proved  it  was  self-defense." 

"Tell  us  about  it,"  suggested  Garth. 

The  old  man  scratched  his  head,  and  shot  a  dubious 
glance  at  Natalie.  "  I  ain't  sure  as  this  is  quite  a  proper 


43  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

story,"  he  said.  "You  see,  I  was  having  a  wash,  as 
it  might  happen,  at  the  edge  of  a  slough  —  a  slough  is 
a  little  pond  in  the  prairie,  Miss,  as  you're  a  stranger  - 
and  my  clothes  and  my  gun  was  lying  beside  me,  and 
my  horse  was  croppin'  the  grass  at  the  top  of  the  rise. 
When  I  was  as  clean  as  slough  water  would  make  me, 
which  isn't  much,  'cause  I  stirred  up  a  power  of  mud, 
and  soap  was  an  extravagance  them  days,  I  begun  to 
dress  myself.  Well,  I  had  my  shirt  on,  and  was  sittin* 
down  to  pull  on  my  pants,  when  I  heard  my  cayuse 
start  off  on  a  dead  run.  I  looked  up  quick-like  and  blest 
if  there  wasn't  old  Bill  Buffalo  a-pawin*  and  a-bel- 
lerin'  and  a-shakin'  of  his  head,  not  thirty  yards  away! 
Soon  as  he  see  me  look  up  he  come  chargin'  down 
on  me  with  his  big  head  close  to  the  ground  like  a 
locomotive  cow-catcher.  And  me  in  that  awkward 
state  of  dishabilly!" 

"What  did  you  do,  Mr.  Smiley?"  cried  Nell  in 
suspense. 

Paul  shifted  his  quid,  spat,  and  shoved  his  pearl 
Fedora  a  little  further  over  his  ear.  "G'lang  there," 
he  cried  shaking  the  reins.  "I  reached  my  gun 
before  he  reached  me,"  he  said;  "and  I  gave  him  the 
charge,  bang  in  his  little  red  eye.  He  reared  up; 
and  come  down  kerplunk  right  on  top  o'  me;  only 
I  rolled  away  just  in  time!" 

The  trail  to  the  Landing  is  considered  something 
of  a  road  up  North;  and  the  natives  are  apt  to  stare 


ONTHETRAIL  43 

pityingly  at  the  effeminate  stranger  who  complains  of 
the  holes.  It  is  something  of  a  road  compared  to  what 
comes  after;  but  Natalie,  hitherto  accustomed  to  cush- 
ions and  springs  in  her  drives,  could  not  conceive  of  any- 
thing worse.  As  the  afternoon  waned,  what  with  the 
heat,  the  hard,  narrow  seat,  and  the  incessant  lurching 
and  bumping  of  the  crazy  stage,  which  threw  her  now 
backward  till  her  head  threatened  to  snap  off,  and 
now  forward  on  Nell's  knees,  the  blooming  roses  in 
Natalie's  cheeks  faded,  and  her  smile  grew  wan. 
Poor  Garth,  anxiously  watching  her,  almost  burst 
with  suppressed  solicitousness. 

But  at  last  the  journey  came  to  its  end;  and  at 
six  o'clock  the  Royal  Mail  with  its  bruised  and  famished 
passengers  swung  into  the  yard  at  Forbie's,  the  half- 
way house,  fifty  miles  from  Prince  George.  Garth 
had  learned  that  the  men  slept  in  an  outside  bunk- 
house,  while  the  women  were  received  into  the 
farmhouse  itself.  He  hastened  to  interview  Mrs. 
Forbie  in  private,  that  the  dreadful  possibility  of 
Natalie's  being  asked  to  share  a  room  with  the  other 
woman  passenger  might  be  avoided.  It  is  doubtful 
if  Natalie  would  have  taken  any  harm  from  poor  old 
Nell;  but  Garth  was  a  young  man  falling  in  love; 
and  so,  ferociously  virtuous  in  judging  Nell's  kind. 
Natalie  had  a  room  to  herself. 


IV 

THE  STOPPING-HOUSE  YARD 

NEXT  morning,  Old  Paul,  assisted  by  Nell's 
dark  companion,  and  the  half-breed  Xavier, 
was  hitching  up  in  the  yard  of  Forbie's,  when 
Nick  Grylls  appeared  from  the  house,  and  walked 
heavily  up  and  down  at  some  distance  moodily  chew- 
ing a  cigar.  Big  Nick  was  wondering  dully  what  in 
hell  was  the  matter  with  him.  He  had  tossed  in  his 
bunk  the  night  through;  and  now,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  day,  when  a  man  should  be  at  his  heartiest,  he  found 
himself  without  appetite  for  his  breakfast,  and  in  a 
grinding  temper,  without  any  object  to  vent  it  on. 
In  his  little  eyes,  bloodshot  with  the  lack  of  sleep, 
and  unwonted  emotion,  there  was  an  almost  childish 
expression  of  bewilderment. 

A  deep  sense  of  personal  injury  lay  at  the  root  of  his 
discomfort.  Nick  was  accustomed  to  think  of  him- 
self as  a  whale  of  a  fine  fellow,  as  they  say  in  the  West; 
he  heard  every  day  that  he  was  the  smartest  man  up 
North;  and,  of  course,  he  believed  it.  He  regarded 
himself  as  a  prince  of  generosity;  for  was  not  his  liber- 
ality to  the  half-breed  women  a  reproach  among 

44 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE    YARD       45 

cannier  white  men  ?  He  was  fond  of  children,  too; 
and  one  of  his  amusements  was  to  distribute  handfuls 
of  candy  over  the  counter  of  his  store.  And  candy 
("French  creams/'  God  save  the  mark!)  is  worth 
seventy-five  cents  a  pound  on  Lake  Miwasa.  When 
any  poor  fellow  froze  to  death,  or  went  "looney"  in  the 
great  solitudes,  it  was  Nick  Grylls  who  dug  deepest  in 
his  pocket  for  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate  family. 
This,  then,  was  the  meat  of  his  amazed  grievance; 
that  he,  the  great  man,  the  patron,  should,  here  in  his 
own  country,  be  coolly  ignored  by  a  mere  boy  and  girl. 

There  was  good  in  Nick  Grylls;  and  Garth  travel- 
ling alone  would  have  got  along  very  well  with  him, 
and  worked  him  for  copy;  but  having  Natalie  to  look 
after,  he  instinctively  put  himself  on  his  guard  against 
the  triumphant  Silenus.  Grylls,  with  an  enormous 
capacity  for  pleasure,  had  carelessly  taken  his  fill. 
He  had  to  content  himself  with  the  coarse  plants  of  the 
North;  and  up  to  now  he  had  desired  no  other.  But  he 
had  arrived  at  the  age  when,  the  passions  beginning 
to  cool,  the  grossest  man  conceives  of  fastidiousness; 
and  at  this  crisis  Fate  had  thrust  a  perfect  blossom 
before  him.  Never  so  close  to  a  woman  of  Natalie's 
world  before,  he  had  been  free  to  look  at  her  through- 
out an  entire  day;  and  she  had  actually  spoken  to  him 
once.  He  did  not  realize  what  was  the  matter  with 
him  yet;  but  presently,  when  Natalie  came  out  of  the 
house,  he  would  know. 

Garth  strolled  out  from  breakfast;  and   filled  his 


46  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

pipe  while  he  waited  for  Natalie  to  repack  her  valise 
within.  Nick's  chaotic  passions  leaped  to  meet  the 
aspect  of  the  cool  young  man,  and  fastened  on  him. 
But  there  was  no  relief  here;  his  hearty  and  irresist- 
ible career  over  prostrate  necks  was  suddenly  arrested 
in  the  light  of  Garth's  cool  glance.  In  his  heart  Nick 
suspected  he  was  despised,  and  the  fact  emasculated 
his  rage.  He  hung  his  head,  and  looked  elsewhere. 

When  the  horses  were  hitched,  Xavier  went  into 
the  bunkhouse  for  his  master's  bedding,  old  Paul 
pottered  around  the  harness,  while  Albert,  Nell's 
companion,  strolled  back  to  join  Grylls. 

"What  do  you  make  of  this  young  couple?"  asked 
Nick,  assuming  an  indifferent  air. 

"I  dunno,"  Albert  returned  lethargically. 

"There  wasn't  anything  about  a  girl  in  the  news- 
paper," pursued  Nick;  "and  young  reporters  don't 
generally  have  coin  enough  to  travel  with  a  wife." 

"They  ain't  married,"  said  Albert. 

"What  !"  exclaimed  Nick  eagerly. 

"  Nell  says  she  heard  her  call  him  Mr.  Pevensey  before 
the  stage  started;  and  he  called  her  Miss  What's-this." 

Nick's  little  eyes  glittered.  "Then  what  in  hell  are 
they  doing  up  here  together  ?"  he  muttered. 

"Search  me!"  said  Albert  indifferently.  "Nell 
says  she  can't  make  it  out." 

"  She  seems  to  have  taken  a  kind  of  shine  to  Nell," 
suggested  Nick  carefully.  "Women  are  sly  as  links. 
Pass  a  quiet  word  to  Nell  to  draw  her  out." 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE    YARD       47 

"She's  tried,"  said  Albert.  "Nice  as  you  please 
but  mum.  Why  don't  you  pump  him?"  he  suggested, 
indicating  Garth. 

"Because  he's  a  damned,  self-sufficient  dude!" 
Nick  burst  out  with  a  string  of  curses.  "One  of  these 
porridge-mouthed  Easterners  that  run  up  their  eye- 
brows with  a  'my  word!'  at  any  free  speech  or  liber- 
ality in  a  man!  The  first  time  he  finds  himself  in 
man's  country  he  patronizes  us!  Going  to  write  us 
up!  My  God!  My  stomach  turns  over  every  time 
I  look  at  him!" 

"Well,  he  better  not  get  you  down  on  him,"  said 
Albert  propitiatingly. 

Natalie  came  sailing  out  of  the  farmhouse  as  fresh 
and  smiling  as  the  morning  itself.  Garth  hastened 
to  meet  her.  A  dark  flush  rose  in  Grylls's  cheeks,  and 
he  gritted  his  teeth,  until  the  muscles  stood  out  in 
lumps  on  either  side  his  jaw.  He  felt  a  desire  to  possess 
this  slender,  swimming  figure  mounting  in  his  brain 
to  the  pitch  of  madness.  As  she  passed  him  Natalie 
nodded  not  unkindly,  and  the  big  man's  eyes  followed 
her  in  a  sort  of  dog's  agony. 

Nell  followed  her  out  of  the  house;  and  Garth  handed 
them  both  into  the  stage.  He  did  not  get  in  himself, 
but  stood  on  the  ground  below  Natalie,  talking  up  to  her. 
One  of  the  horses  had  refused  to  drink  at  the  trough, 
and  old  Paul,  wishing  to  give  him  another  chance,  sent 
Xavier  for  a  pail  of  water. 

This  Xavier  deserves  a  word.     The  young  breeds 


48  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

run  to  extremes  of  good  looks  or  ill;  and  in  his  case  it 
was  the  latter.  In  downright  English  he  was  hideous. 
A  shock  of  intractable,  lank  hair  hung  over  what  he 
had  of  a  forehead;  and  underneath  rolled  a  pair  of 
whitey-blue  eyes,  with  a  villainous  cast  in  one  of  them. 
Some  accident  had  carried  Nature's  work  even  further, 
for  one  swarthy  cheek  was  divided  from  temple  to 
chin  by  a  dirty  white  scar.  He  wore  a  pair  of  black- 
and-white  checked  trousers,  which,  once  Nick's,  hung 
strangely  on  his  meagre  frame.  He  was  absurdly 
proud  of  this  garment.  His  outer  wear  was  completed 
by  a  black  cotton  shirt,  and  the  inevitable  stiff-brimmed 
hat,  without  which  no  brown  youth  feels  himself  a 
man.  Xavier's  face  wore  an  expression  of  blankness 
verging  on  idiocy;  but  he  was  by  no  means  deficient 
in  cunning.  His  full  name  was  St.  Francois  Xavier 
Zero. 

Returning  from  the  pump  with  the  pail  of  water,  as 
he  passed  Nick,  the  big  man  threw  him  an  idle  word 
or  two  in  Cree.  Xavier  grinned  comprehendingly; 
and  Nick  and  Albert  followed  him  a  little  way.  Xavier 
came  up  close  behind  Garth;  and  in  passing  him, 
made  believe  to  stumble.  Some  of  the  water  splashed 
over  Garth's  legs.  Garth  swung  around,  and  took 
in  the  situation  at  a  glance;  Grylls  and  Albert  were 
grinning  in  the  background.  There  was  a  crack  as 
his  fist  met  the  half-breed's  jaw;  and  Xavier  rolled  in 
the  dust.  In  falling  the  pail  capsized,  emptying  its 
contents  on  the  cherished  trousers. 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE    YARD       49 

Nick's  guffaw  was  quickly  changed  for  a  scowl; 
Garth  saw  that  an  explosion  was  imminent;  and  that 
quick  thought  was  necessary.  He  knew  he  must  at  all 
cost  to  his  pride  avoid  trouble  until  he  got  Natalie  off 
his  hands.  He  walked  over  to  Nick;  the  big  fellow 
clenched  his  fists  as  he  approached. 

"  Hope  I  haven't  hurt  the  beggar,"  said  Garth  blandly. 
"Perhaps  he  didn't  mean  to  spill  the  water;  but  you 
have  to  deal  quickly  with  a  breed.  That's  your  way, 
I'm  told." 

Nick  was  completely  disconcerted  by  this  unexpected 
line  of  action.  His  hands  dropped;  and  he  muttered 
something  which  might  pass  for  agreement.  Garth 
coolly  returned  to  Natalie. 

The  breed  picked  himself  up,  and  went  crouching 
to  his  master  with  a  voluble,  whining  complaint  in  his 
own  tongue.  Nick  lifted  his  hand;  and  with  a  vicious, 
backhanded  stroke  sent  Xavier  again  reeling  across 
the  yard.  It  was  the  blow  which  was  meant  for 
Garth.  Passion  had  set  Nick  dancing  to  a  strange 
tune.  Albert,  seeing  the  look  in  his  eye,  instinctively 
edged  out  of  reach. 

Old  Nell  looked  at  these  things  with  a  resigned 
air  that  spoke  volumes  for  her  daily  life.  Natalie 
kept  perfectly  quiet;  but  a  bright  spot  burned  in  either 
cheek,  and  she  turned  a  pair  of  shining  eyes  on 
Garth  when  he  came  back  to  her.  His  difficulties 
were  by  no  means  over.  Old  Paul, feeling  that  it  might 
be  well  to  forego  the  pail  of  water,  gave  the  word  to 


50  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

start.  Grylls  climbed  in  by  the  rear  step,  and  sat  next 
to  Nell  with  a  dogged  air.  This  brought  him  opposite 
Garth,  and  very  near  Natalie.  Albert  and  the  half- 
breed  following  him,  they  started.  Xavier,  covered 
with  dirt,  snivelling,  and  nursing  a  split  lip,  was  as 
ugly  as  a  gargoyle. 

Garth  saw  a  way  out  in  the  vacant  place  beside  Paul. 
"The  front  seat  would  be  more  comfortable  for  you; 
it's  wider,"  he  said  to  Natalie,  loud  enough  for  all  to 
hear.  "Paul,"  he  called,  "have  you  room  beside  you 
for  the  young  lady  ?  She  wants  to  hear  some  more 
stories." 

Paul,  delighted,  immediately  pulled  up,  and  held 
out  a  hand.  Natalie  climbed  over  the  mail-bags 
and  took  her  place  beside  him.  In  crossing,  she  gave 
Garth's  hand  a  grateful  squeeze;  and  he  returned  to 
his  place  with  a  swelling  heart,  ready  for  Nick  Grylls 
and  any  like  him.  But  he  would  not  allow  himself 
to  depart  from  the  course  he  had  laid  out.  In  the 
past  he  had  been  compelled  to  conciliate,  to  flatter, 
to  mould  such  men  as  Grylls  for  the  advantage  of  the 
Leader;  and  he  could  certainly  do  it  once  more  for  the 
sake  of  Natalie.  Nick  faced  him  with  a  venomous 
eye,  but  was  unable  to  make  an  opening  for  more 
trouble. 

Old  Paul,  whenever  they  came  to  a  hill  and  he 
could  allow  his  four  to  walk,  turned  around;  and  half 
to  Natalie,  half  to  Garth,  delivered  himself  of  one  of 
his  characteristic  stories.  Neither  was  Nick  impatient 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE    YARD       51 

with  his  monologues  to-day;  for  when  Paul  turned 
Natalie  half  turned  also;  and  then  Nick  could  watch 
her  face. 

Garth  had  asked  the  old  man  about  the  half-breed 
rebellion. 

"Sure,  I  was  through  it  all,"  he  began.  "I  was 
buildin'  boats  in  Prince  George;  and  scoutin'.  Up- 
wards of  three  months  we  hadn't  no  news  from 
outside  and  the  settlement  was  in  a  continuous  state 
of  scare.  It  was  supposed  the  Crees  had  been  joined 
by  the  Montana  Indians;  and  all  said  we  was  cut  off 
on  the  south.  Women,  children  and  cattle  was 
crowded  together  in  the  stockade;  but  I  didn't  bring 
my  family  in.  My  old  woman  weren't  afraid;  and 
somepin*  told  me  it  was  just  one  of  these  here  panics 
like. 

"Well,  one  day  up  came  word  to  the  commandant 
to  send  a  force  down  the  river  to  Fort  Pitt,  as  they 
called  it,  to  jine  with  General  Middleton.  Then  it 
was'  Smiley  here,  and  Smiley  there,  and  they  couldn't 
do  nothin'  without  Smiley.  I  started  down  the  river 
at  last  with  two  work  boats  carryin'  fifty  men  under 
Major  Lewis  and  Cap'n  Caswell.  It  was  a  Saturday 
night,  I  mind.  Lewis  was  one  of  these  stuck-up, 
know-it-all  johnnies,  not  long  breeched.  But  Caswell 
was  an  old  Crimea  veteran;  his  face  had  been  spiled 
by  a  powder  explosion;  but  he  certainly  was  a  sporter! 
Me  and  him  got  along  fine.  My!  My!  what  a  randy 
old  feller  he  was!  The  men  used  to  sit  around  him 


52  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

with    their    mouths    open    waitin'    to    laugh.     Grimy 
Caswell  they  called  him,  along  of  his  speckled  face  - 
great  big  man! 

"We  travelled  for  three  days  and  three  nights  without 
stoppin';  and  would  you  believe  it,  that  damn  fool 
Lewis  —  'scuse  me,  Miss —  made  us  light  a  lantern  at 
night!  A  mark  for  all  the  reds  in  the  country!  I  was 
steerin'  the  first  boat;  and  signallin'  the  channel  to 
Dave  Sinclair  in  the  boat  behind,  with  my  hand;  this 
way  and  so.  But  the  second  day  Dave  ran  her  aground. 
Young  Lewis  wouldn't  allow  that  we  knew  how  to 
lift  a  boat  off  a  shoal  up  North.  I  let  him  break  all 
the  ropes  tryin'  to  drag  her  off;  then  I  showed  him. 
Meanwhile,  all  this  time,  Grimy  Caswell  was  dressin' 
himself  up  like  a  redskin  in  my  boat;  and  smearin' 
his  face  with  red  earth.  When  it  got  dusk-like,  he 
hid  in  the  bushes;  and  by  and  by  Lewis  came  along  the 
shore.  All  of  a  sudden,  Grimy  in  his  war-paint  popped 
out  in  front  of  him,  let  out  a  hell  of  a  screech,  and 
gent  a  shot  over  his  head.  Say,  that  young  man  near 
died  right  there.  He  turned  the  colour  of  a  lead  bullet; 
and  made  some  quick  tracks  to  the  rear  boat.  Grimy 
sneaked  back  to  ours  and  washed  and  dressed;  and  all 
night  long  he  plagued  Lewis  to  light  the  lantern; 
but  he  wouldn't;  and  the  men  near  died  holdin'  their- 
selves  in.  Oh !  Grimy  Caswell  was  a  humorous  feller, 
he  was! 

"We  landed  at  Fort  Pitt  on  the  fourth  day;  and  at 
the  same  time  the  steamboats  come  up  from  Battle 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE     YARD       53 

Run  with  the  whole  army.  They  landed  'em  all; 
and  say,  they  had  a  brass  band;  and  General  Middleton 
rode  a  white  horse.  Never  see  such  a  grand  sight  in 
all  my  born  days;  they  must  have  been  all  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  men!" 

At  the  foot  of  another  long  hill  Natalie  expressed 
a  wish  to  walk  up;  and  Garth  helped  her  down.  They 
set  ofF  briskly,  ahead  of  the  horses;  and  for  the  first 
time  found  themselves  free  to  talk  to  each  other. 

"How  good  you  have  been  to  me!"  she  murmured. 

"Don't  think  of  thanking  me,"  said  Garth,  almost 
roughly. 

"If  I  had  known  how  literally  you  would  have  to 
take  care  of  me,  I  would  not  have  been  so  quick  to 
ask  you." 

"It  was  nothing,  really." 

"Nothing,  you  mean  to  what  is  before  us?"  she 
asked  quickly. 

"  I  look  for  nothing  worse,"  he  said. 

"  Perhaps  my  appearance  is  too  conspicuous,"  she 
suggested  with  a  humility  new  to  her. 

"A  little,   perhaps,"   Garth   admitted. 

"What  shall  I  do?"  she  said.  "I  have  nothing 
else." 

"At  the  Landing  I  will  dress  you  in  a  rough  sweater, 
and  a  felt  hat  strapped  under  your  chin,"  he  said  with 
a  smile. 

Natalie  was  aggrieved.  "I  like  to  look  nice,"  she 
protested. 


54  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"You  would  —  even  then,"  said  poor  Garth. 

She  changed  the  subject.  "What  a  gross  beast 
that  big  man  is!"  she  said  strongly. 

"  Poor  devil!"  said  Garth  unconsciously.  He  under- 
stood from  his  own  feelings  a  little  of  what  Nick  was 
going  through. 

Natalie  turned  a  surprised  face  on  him.  "Are 
you  sorry  for  him?"  she  demanded. 

"A  little." 

"Why?" 

"  Well  —  I  think  perhaps  he  never  saw  any  one 
like  you  before,"  he  said  quietly. 


"Naturally!" 

"Why?"  she  demanded  again  —  and  was  immedi- 
ately sorry  she  had  spoken. 

Garth  looked  away.  "  He  thinks  I  am  —  I  am 
more  than  I  am,"  he  said  oracularly. 

She  affected  not  to  hear  this.  "What  shall  we  do 
about  him?"  she  asked. 

"He  won't  trouble  us  after  the  Landing,"  said  Garth. 
"He  is  bound  down  the  river  to  Lake  Miwasa,  while 
we  go  up  to  Caribou  Lake." 

"It's  a  precious  good  thing  for  me  I  didn't  start 
off  alone,"  she  said  feelingly. 

"I'm  glad  if  I've  won  your  confidence  a  little," 
said  Garth  hanging  his  head. 

This  meant:  "Aren't  you  going  to  tell  me  about 
yourself?"  Natalie's  mystery  had  been  a  thorn  in  his 


THE    STOPPING-HOUSE    YARD       55 

flesh  all  the  way  along  the  road.  He  was  ashamed 
to  speak  of  it,  for  seeming  to  imply  a  doubt  of  her; 
but  he  couldn't  help  approaching  it  in  this  roundabout 
way. 

Natalie  understood.  "I'll  tell  you  now,  gladly," 
she  said  at  once.  "But  not  here;  there  isn't  time. 
We  have  to  get  in  directly." 

This  was  precisely  what  Garth  desired  her  to  say. 
He  longed  for  her  to  want  to  tell  him;  but  for  the 
story  itself,  he  dreaded  it,  and  was  quite  willing  to 
have  the  telling  deferred. 

Later  in  the  day  they  reached  Nell's  house,  quite 
a  fine  edifice  built  with  lumber  instead  of  the  usual 
logs.  Natalie,  true  to  her  word,  allowed  herself  to 
be  shown  through;  and  did  not  stint  her  admiration 
of  Nell's  treasures.  When  they  drove  on,  she  looked 
back  with  a  genuine  feeling  for  the  old  girl,  who  was 
so  anxious  to  please.  They  left  her  standing  in  the 
doorway  in  her  finery,  with  the  sullen,  black-browed 
bravo  slouching  beside  her. 

The  way  became  very  much  rougher;  and  Garth  was 
glad  of  Natalie's  having  greater  comfort  on  the  front 
seat.  About  five  o'clock  they  climbed  their  last  hill. 
At  the  top  Old  Paul,  pulling  up  his  horses,  swept  his 
whip  with  an  eloquent  gesture  over  the  magnificent 
prospect  lying  below. 

"All  the  water  this  side  goes  to  the  Arctic,"  he  said. 

Looking  over  a  wealth  of  greenery,  away  below  them 
they  saw  the  mighty  Miwasa  River  coming  eastward 


56  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

from  the  mountains,  make  its  southernmost  sweep, 
and  shape  a  course  straight  away  for  the  North.  The 
Miwasa  river!  There  was  magic  in  the  name;  they 
gazed  down  at  it  with  a  feeling  akin  to  awe.  Off  to 
the  left  lay  the  roofs  of  the  Landing,  farthest  outpost 
of  civilization. 

Presently  they  were  rattling  down  the  steep  village 
street  at  a  great  pace,  traces  hanging  slack;  past  the 
factor's  house,  the  "Company's"  store,  the  blacksmith 
shop  and  the  "  French  outfit";  with  a  dash  and  a  clatter 
that  brought  every  inhabitant  running  to  the  hotel. 
Most  of  them  were  already  there;  for  the  arrival  of  the 
mail  is  the  event  of  the  week.  Old  Smiley  swept  up 
to  the  gallery  at  Trudeau's  with  a  flourish  worthy  of 
coaching's  palmiest  days.  The  passengers  alighted; 
and  again  the  girl  with  the  green  wings  in  her  hat 
became  the  cynosure  of  every  eye.  Garth  delivered  her 
into  the  comfortable  arms  of  Mrs.  Trudeau,  who 
took  her  upstairs.  Turning  back  into  the  general  room, 
he  asked  the  first  man  he  met  where  the  Bishop  lived. 

"Up  the  street  and  to  the  left  a  piece,"  was  the  reply. 
"But  say—" 

"Well?"  said  Garth. 

"The  Bishop  and  his  party  started  up  the  river  two 
days  ago." 

Garth,  turning,  saw  Nick  Grylls  listening  with  an 
evil  grin. 


AT  MIWASA  LANDING 

MIWASA  LANDING  is  the  jumping-off  place 
of  civilization;  here,  at  Trudeau's,  is  the  last 
billiard  table,  and  the  last  piano;  here,  the 
wayfarer  sleeps  for  the  last  time  on  springs,  and  eats 
his  last  "square"  ere  the  wilderness  swallows  him.  It 
is  at  once  the  rendezvous,  the  place  of  good-byes,  and 
the  gossip-exchange  of  the  North;  here,  the  incomer 
first  apprehends  the  intimate,  village  spirit  of  that  vast 
land,  where  a  man's  doings  are  registered  with  more 
particularity  than  in  the  smallest  hamlet  outside. 
For  where  there  are  not,  in  half  a  million  square  miles, 
enough  white  men  to  fill  a  room,  or  as  many  white 
women  as  a  man  has  fingers,  each  individual  fills 
a  large  space  in  the  picture.  Away  up  in  Fort  Somer- 
vell,  three  months'  journey  from  Prince  George,  they 
speak  of  "town"  as  if  it  were  five  miles  off. 

And  Trudeau's  on  the  river  bank,  quite  imposing 
with  its  three  stories  and  its  gingerbread  gallery,  is  the 
nucleus  of  it  all.  Trudeau's  is  a  reminder  of  the  jolly 
bustling  inns  of  a  century  ago.  The  traders,  the 
policemen,  the  mail-carriers,  the  rivermen  and  the 

57 


58  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

freighters  come  and  go;  each  sits  for  a  day  or  two  in 
the  row  of  chairs  tipped  back  against  the  wall  —  for 
no  one  is  ever  in  a  hurry  in  the  North  —  gives  his 
news,  if  he  be  on  the  way  "out";  takes  it  if  he  be  coming 
"in";  and  appoints  to  meet  his  friends  there  next  year. 
The  commonest  type  of  all  is  the  genial  dilettante, 
the  man  who  traps  a  little,  prospects  a  little,  grows  a 
few  potatoes,  and  loafs  a  great  deal.  Trudeau's  is 
also  the  eddy  which  sooner  or  later  sucks  in  the  derelicts 
of  the  country,  sons  or  brothers  of  somebody,  incredibly 
unshaven  and  down  at  heel;  capitalists  of  bluster 
and  labourers  with  the  tongue. 

Such  was  the  crowd  that  witnessed  Natalie's  arrival 
open-mouthed;  and  such  the  individuals  that  fastened 
themselves  in  turn  on  Garth,  with  the  determination 
of  extracting  a  full  explanation  of  the  phenomenon. 
Garth  succeeded  in  avoiding  at  the  same  time  giving 
offense  and  giving  information.  But  he  could  not  pre- 
vent a  fine  podful  of  rumours  from  bursting  at  the  Land- 
ing, and  scattering  seeds  broadcast  over  the  North. 

He  found  a  letter  awaiting  him  from  the  Bishop. 

"  I  find,"  he  wrote,  "  that  Captain  Jack  Dexter's  steamboat  will 
be  going  up  the  river  to  the  Warehouse  in  the  middle  of  the  week; 
and  as  my  preparations  are  completed  a  day  or  two  earlier  than  I 
expected,  I  am  starting  on  ahead  with  my  outfit.  You  will  probably 
overtake  us  in  the  big  river,  as  we  have  to  track  all  the  way;  but 
should  you  be  delayed,  I  will  go  on  up  the  rapids;  and  will  see  that 
a  wagon  is  waiting  for  you  at  the  Warehouse,  to  bring  you  to  me 
at  Pierre  Toma's  house  on  Musquasepi.  This  will  be  more  com- 
fortable for  you,  as  all  this  first  part  of  the  journey  is  tedious  up- 
stream work." 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  59 

The  good  man  little  suspected  when  he  wrote  it  what 
a  quandary  his  kindly  note  would  throw  Garth  into. 

After  supper,  he  and  Natalie,  sitting  in  the  rigid 
little  parlour  upstairs,  talked  it  over;  while  Made- 
moiselle Trudeau,  aged  fifteen,  sought  to  entertain  them 
by  rendering  effete  popular  songs  on  the  famous 
piano.  From  below  came  the  rise  and  fall  of  deep- 
voiced  talk,  and  the  incessant  click  of  billiard  balls. 

Natalie  made  a  picture  of  adorable  perplexity 
to  Garth's  eyes  as  she  said:  "What  would  you  advise 
me  to  do?" 

"How  can  I  advise  you?"  he  said,  looking  away; 
"I  do  not  know  all  the  circumstances." 

"But  I  can't  tell  you  now,"  she  said  appealingly. 
"Don't  you  see,  my  reasons  for  going  must  not  be 
allowed  to  influence  our  decision  as  to  whether  I  can 
go?" 

Garth  did  not  exactly  see  this;  but  unwilling  to 
beg  for  her  confidence,  he  remained  silent. 

"My  trouble  is,"  she  continued  presently,  "that 
if  we  follow  the  Bishop  and  overtake  him,  he'll  virtually 
be  obliged  to  take  me;  and  I  do  not  wish  to  force  myself 
on  him." 

"As  to  that,"  Garth  said,  "one  has  to  give  and  take 
in  the  North.  It's  not  like  it  is  outside.  Besides,  we 
pay  our  own  score  you  know;  and  carry  our  own  grub. 
I'll  answer  for  the  Bishop." 

"Then  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  not  go,"  she 
said. 


60  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  journey  with  her  stretched  itself  rosily  before 
Garth's  mind's  eye;  but  his  instinct  to  take  care  of 
her  made  him  oppose  it.  "There  is  me,"  he  said 
diffidently;  "travelling  alone  with  me,  I  mean.  Even 
in  the  North  a  girl  is  obliged  to  consider  what  people 
will  say." 

Natalie  shook  her  shoulders  impatiently.  'There's 
not  the  slightest  use  urging  reasons  of  propriety,"  she 
said  resolutely.  "As  long  as  my  conscience  is  clear, 
I  can't  afford  to  consider  it.  This  is  too  important.  It 
affects  my  whole  life,"  she  added  in  a  deeper  voice. 
"There's  something  up  there  I  have  to  find  out!" 

Something  in  this  made  Garth's  hopes  lift  up  a  little; 
for  she  did  not  speak  as  one  whose  heart  was  in 
thrall. 

Mademoiselle  Trudeau  concluded  her  piece  with 
an  ear-tearing  discord;  and  turned,  self-consciously 
inviting  applause. 

"How  well  you  play,  dear!"  said  Natalie,  the  wheed- 
ler.  "Isn't  it  nice  to  have  music  away  up  here!  Try 
something  else." 

The  performer,  adoring  Natalie,  promptly  turned 
her  pig-tails  to  them  again,  and  attacked  "Two  Little 
Girls  in  Blue."  Garth  groaned. 

"Discourages  listeners,"  remarked  Natalie,  indicat- 
ing the  curtained  doorway. 

"So,"  she  continued  presently,  "if  you  haven't 
any  better  reasons  to  urge  against  it,  we'll  consider  the 
matter  settled." 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  61 

"Couldn't  I  go  for  you?"  asked  Garth. 

She  resolutely  shook  her  head.  "I  have  promised," 
she  said. 

"It  was  a  promise  given  in  ignorance  of  the  con- 
ditions," Garth  persisted  with  rough  tenderness. 
"This  wild  country  is  no  place  for  you.  I  could  not 
bear  to  see  you  wet  and  hungry  and  cold  and  tired, 
and  all  that  is  before  us  —  besides  dangers  we  may 
not  suspect." 

Natalie  faced  him  with  shining  eyes.  "Clumsy 
man!"  she  cried  —  but  there  was  tenderness  in  her 
scorn  too.  "Do  you  think  this  is  persuading  me  not 
to  go?  I'm  not  a  doll;  I  won't  spoil  with  a  little 
rough  handling!  If  you  only  knew  how  I  longed 
to  experience  the  real;  to  work  for  my  living,  to  get  under 
the  surface  of  things!" 

Garth,  amazed  and  admiring  of  her  bold  spirit, 
was  silenced. 

As  they  were  parting  for  the  night,  she  said:  "As 
soon  as  the  steamboat  casts  off,  and  it's  too  late  to 
turn  back,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  have  to  do  up  there." 

Next  morning  Garth  sought  an  interview  with 
Captain  Jack  Dexter  of  the  Aurora  Borealis.  At  once 
proprietor,  skipper  and  business  manager  of  his  boat, 
and  serenely  independent  of  competition,  he  was  a 
type  new  to  Garth.  His  single  concession  to  sea-faring 
attire  was  a  yachting  cap  several  sizes  too  small,  perched 
on  his  spreading  brown  curls.  His  face  was  red; 


68  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

his  eyes  anxious,  blue  and  bulging.  He  had  the 
unwholesome,  frenetic  aspect  of  the  patent  medicine 
enthusiast,  not  uncommon  in  the  North.  Garth  inter- 
rupted him  in  a  grave  discussion  of  the  relative  merits 
of  "Pain  Killer"  and  "Golden  Discovery." 

"I  may  take  a  run  up  to  the  Warehouse,"  he  said 
guardedly,  in  answer  to  the  question.  "I'll  let  you 
know  to-morrow." 

"Aren't  you  sure  of  going?"  asked  Garth  in  some 
dismay. 

"Never  sure  of  nothing  in  this  world,"  said  Captain 
Jack,  with  a  glance  around  the  circle,  sure  of  applause. 

Garth  bit  his  lip.  "Haven't  you  freight  to  go  up  ?" 
he  asked  quietly. 

"Plenty  of  freight  offered  me,"  said  the  skipper 
coolly.  "Plenty  to  go  down-stream  too." 

"  But  it's  highly  important  I  should  know  what  you're 
going  to  do,"  said  Garth  with  increasing  heat. 

Captain  Jack  cocked  a  wary  eye  at  the  sky,  and 
spat.  "No  water  in  the  river,"  he  said  at  length. 

"Then  you're  not  going,"  said  Garth. 

"Didn't  say  so,"  said  Captain  Jack.  "May  rain 
shortly,  and  bring  her  up  an  inch  or  so." 

The  sky  was  clear  and  speckless  as  an  azure  bowl. 
"Do  you  mean  I've  got  to  wait  around  here  indefinitely 
on  the  bare  chance  of  its  raining?"  demanded  Garth. 

"Told  the  Bishop  I'd  bring  you  up,"  said  Captain 
Jack  in  his  detached  way.  "  Reckon  I  can't  break  my 
word  to  the  Church." 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  63 

"Well,  why  didn't  you  say  so  in  the  beginning?'* 
said  Garth,  wondering  if  this  was  a  joke.  "When  will 
you  be  starting  ?" 

"Oh,  to-morrow,  maybe,"  said  the  skipper  without 
suspecting  the  least  humour  in  the  situation;  "or 
Thursday  —  or  Friday;  whenever  I  can  get  the  boys 
together.  You  just  stay  around  and  I'll  let  you  know." 

With  this  Garth  was  forced  to  be  content. 

Next  there  was  the  business  of  laying  in  supplies 
from  the  "Company."  Garth  tasted  to  the  full  the 
sweets  of  partnership,  as  he  and  Natalie  gauged  each 
other's  appetite,  and  made  their  calculations.  Paul 
Smiley  accompanied  them  in  the  capacity  of  expert 
adviser;  but  the  old  man  was  inclined  to  be  scandalized 
at  the  extravagant  luxuries  Garth  insisted  on  adding 
to  the  five  great  staples  of  Northern  travel;  viz.,  bacon, 
flour,  baking-powder,  tea  and  sugar.  Garth  must 
have  besides,  canned  vegetables  and  milk  for  Natalie; 
also  cocoa,  jam  and  fresh  butter.  The  whole  was 
contained  in  four  goodly  boxes. 

"Mercy!"  exclaimed  Natalie.  "Fancy  our  two 
little  selves  getting  outside  all  that!  Picture  us  wad- 
dling back  to  civilization." 

Garth  also  made  the  necessary  rougher  additions 
to  her  wardrobe;  and  bought  her  a  rifle  of  small 
calibre. 

In  the  afternoon,  with  strict  injunctions  to  Natalie 
to  remain  indoors  during  his  absence,  he  set  off  to  a 
half-breed  cabin  a  mile  up  the  river,  to  obtain  a  supply 


64  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

of  moccasins  for  both.  Mademoiselle  Trudeau  under- 
took to  bear  Natalie  company  at  home. 

He  had  not  been  gone  long  before  the  Convent-bred 
child  with  her  precise  phrases  began  to  get  on  the 
nerves  of  the  irrepressible  Natalie.  At  the  same  time 
the  exquisite  clarity  of  the  Northern  summer  air,  the 
delicate  mantling  blue  overhead,  and  the  liquid  sun- 
shine on  the  foliage  all  began  to  tempt  her  sorely. 
Across  the  road  a  field  of  squirrel-tail,  dimpling  silkily 
in  the  breeze,  stretched  to  the  river  bank,  and  she  saw 
she  could  cross  it  without  passing  any  house.  Natalie 
was  never  the  one  to  resist  such  a  lure;  she  sent  the  child 
away  on  an  imaginary  errand,  and  slipping  out  by 
the  side  door,  crossed  the  field,  and  gained  the  bank 
without,  as  she  fondly  hoped,  having  been  seen  by  the 
row  of  gossipers  with  their  chairs  tipped  back  against 
the  front  of  the  building.  Rejoicing  in  her  freedom, 
she  followed  the  path  Garth  had  taken  along  the 
edge  of  the  bank,  thinking  how  pleasant  it  would  be 
to  surprise  him  coming  home,  and  planning  how  she 
would  cajole  him  into  forgiving  her  disobedience.  The 
thought  of  Garth's  being  angry  with  her  caused  a 
strange,  vague  little  thrill,  half  dismay,  half  pleasure. 

Natalie  had  not  escaped  the  hotel  unobserved;  as 
she  went  leisurely  waving  her  banners  along  the  river 
path,  a  gross,  burly  figure  with  downcast  head  followed, 
pausing  when  she  paused,  and  taking  advantage  of 
the  taller  bushes  for  cover.  It  was  not  characteristic 
of  Natalie  to  look  behind  her;  she  continued  her  zigzag 


65 

course  all  unconscious;  sweeping  her  skirts  through 
the  grass,  and  ever  and  anon  whistling  snatches  like 
a  bird.  Presently  finding  herself  among  wild  raspberry 
bushes  laden  with  fruit,  she  gave  herself  up  to  delicate 
feasting;  searching  among  the  leaves  bright-eyed, 
like  a  bird,  and  popping  the  berries  into  her  mouth  — 
the  raspberries  paled  beside  the  bloomy  lips  that 
parted  to  receive  them.  At  last  she  plumped  down 
on  a  stone  beside  the  path;  and  gazing  up  the  unknown 
river  of  her  journey,  thought  her  birdlike  thoughts. 

Nick  Gryils  appeared  around  the  bushes.  For 
the  fraction  of  a  second  she  was  utterly  dismayed; 
then  sharply  calling  in  her  flying  forces,  she  nodded 
politely,  as  one  nods  to  a  passer-by;  and  looked  else- 
where. 

But  the  man  had  no  intention  of  taking  the  hint. 
He  had  the  grace  to  pull  off  his  hat  —  the  first  time 
he  had  bared  his  head  to  a  woman  in  many  a  long 
day  —  and  he  paused,  awkwardly  searching  in  his 
mind  for  the  ingratiating  thing  to  say.  What  he  finally 
blurted  out  was  not  at  all  what  he  intended. 

"You  think  I'm  a  coarse,  rude  fellow,  Miss,"  he 
said  with  the  air  of  a  whipped  schoolboy. 

Natalie's  thoughts  beat  their  wings  desperately 
against  her  head.  Here,  indeed,  was  a  situation  to 
try  the  pluck  of  a  highly  civilized  young  lady.  What 
should  she  do  ?  What  should  she  say  ?  What  tone 
should  she  take  ?  In  the  end  she  was  quite  honest. 

"You  have   never  given   me  any  reason  to  think 


66  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

otherwise,"    she    said.     Her    secret    agitation    peeped 
out  in  the  added  briskness  of  her  tones. 

Grylls  incessantly  turned  his  hat  brim  in  his  fat 
freckled  hands.  "I  am  not  as  bad  as  you  think," 
he  said  Jully.  "Somehow  I  seem  to  have  a  worse 
look  wher.  I  am  by  you." 

Natalie  let  it  go  at  that. 

"I  ain't  had  early  advantages,"  he  continued.  "I 
never  learned  how  to  dress  spruce;  and  talk  good 
grammar.  But  a  man  may  have  good  metal  in  him 
for  all  that." 

"Certainly!"   said  Natalie  crisply. 

"There  ain't  no  reason  why  we  shouldn't  be  friends," 
he  said  humbly. 

"None  at  all,"  she  returned.  "Neither  do  I  see  any 
reason  why  we  should  be." 

"  But  say,  I  can  help  you  up  here,"  he  said  eagerly. 
"I  know  the  ropes.  I  have  the  trick  of  mastering  the 
breeds.  I  have  money  in  the  country.  I  can  do  what 
I  like." 

"You  wouldn't  want  me  to  simulate  friendship  for 
the  purpose  of  using  you  ?"  said  Natalie. 

"Yes,  I  would,"  he  sullenly  returned.  "I'd  take 
your  good  will  on  any  terms." 

The  difficulties  of  her  position,  it  seemed  to  her, 
were  increasing  at  a  frightful  ratio.  The  fact  that 
Garth  might  at  any  moment  come  face  to  face  with 
Grylls  only  added  to  her  fears.  But  she  gave  Grylls 
no  sign  of  the  weakness  within. 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  67 

"I  can't  make  believe  to  be  friendly,"  she  said 
briefly.  "  I  give  it  gladly  when  I  can." 

"Show  me  what  to  do  to  be  friends  with  you," 
he  pleaded,  not  without  eloquence.  "I  have  the 
time  and  the  money  and  the  determination  to  do  it  — 
anything!" 

But  it  was  impossible  Natalie  should  feel  the  slightest 
pity  for  a  creature  of  so  gross  an  aspect.  "I  cannot 
show  you,"  she  said  coolly.  "You  must  teach  your- 
self." 

Grylls  began  to  be  encouraged  by  his  own  rising 
passion.  "All  I  ask  is  a  fair  show,"  he  said  in  a  more 
assured  voice.  "Give  me  a  chance  as  well  as  this 
squib  of  a  reporter  you  picked  up  in  Prince  George. 
What  can  he  do  for  you  ?  Let  me  take  you  to  the 
Bishop.  I  can  carry  his  whole  party  through  the 
country  at  a  rate  he  never  thought  of  !" 

Downright  anger  now  came  to  Natalie's  aid.  "My 
arrangements  are  made,"  she  said  curtly.  "I  do  not 
care  to  change  them." 

Grylls's  eyes  quailed  again  under  the  direct  look  of 
hers;  and  a  deeper  red  crept  under  his  skin.  His  tone 
changed.  "If  I  can't  help,  I  can  hinder,"  he  muttered. 

"Threats  will  not  help  you,"  said  Natalie,  instantly 
and  clearly. 

"You  don't  know  what  you're  up  against,"  he  con- 
tinued, still  muttering,  "  I  tell  you  I  carry  the  breeds 
in  my  pocket.  No  white  man  knows  them  but  me. 
I  can  hold  you  up  wherever  I  please.  I've  only  to 


68  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

give  the  word  and  you'll  starve  on  the  trail  —  you 
and  your  reporter!" 

Natalie  arose.  For  the  moment  she  was  too  angry 
to  speak.  The  man  looked  on  her  flashing  beauty; 
and  in  the  madness  of  his  desire  to  possess  it  he  forgot 
his  awe  of  her. 

"God!  How  beautiful  you  are!"  was  forced  from 
his  breast  like  a  groan.  "You  poison  a  man's  blood!" 
His  speech  came  in  thick  blurts  like  clotting  blood. 
"What  business  have  you  got  up  here?  This  is  no 
country  for  the  likes  of  you ! .  .  .  I  was  a  strong  man 
before  you  came;  and  since  I  looked  at  you  I'm  sick  .  .  . 
sick  .  .  .  sick  .  .  .  you've  stolen  my  manhood  out  of  me! 
Don't  you  owe  me  common  civility  in  return  ?  I'd 
fawn  like  a  dog  for  a  kindly  look!  .  .  .  But  don't  you 
provoke  me  too  far  —  don't  think,  because  maybe  I 
can't  meet  your  eye,  I  couldn't  crush  you  —  or  have 
others  do  it!  You  and  your  damned  follower!... 
Oh,  that  would  give  me  ease!" 

Natalie's  breath  came  like  a  frightened  bird's. 
Flight  she  realized  was  dangerous  —  but  it  was  as 
dangerous  to  stay;  and  how  could  she  stay  listening 
to  such  impieties!  Nick  Grylls's  own  bulk  cut  off  her 
retreat  in  the  direction  of  the  settlement  —  but  some- 
where in  the  other  direction  was  Garth.  She  sized 
up  the  man  in  a  darting  glance;  his  swollen  bulk 
promised  shortness  of  breath. 

He  made  a  move  toward  her.  "What's  to  prevent 
me  from  taking  you  now  ?"  he  muttered. 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  69 

Natalie,  turning,  fled  along  the  path;  running  like 
a  bird  with  incredibly  swift,  short  steps. 

Nick  Grylls  plunged  after  her,  passion  lending  his 
great  bulk  lightness  and  speed.  The  path,  which 
is  used  for  tracking  boats  up-stream,  skirted  the 
extreme  edge  of  a  high-cut-bank  bordering  the  river. 
On  the  one  hand  a  single  false  step  would  have  pre- 
cipitated them  to  the  beach  twenty-five  feet  below; 
on  the  other  hand  the  branches  of  an  impenetrable 
undergrowth  scourged  their  faces  as  they  ran.  Here 
and  there  the  rain  had  worn  deep  fissures,  across 
which  leaped  the  nymph  Natalie,  with  the  panting 
Silenus  close  at  her  heels.  She  was  running  desper- 
ately over  unfamiliar  ground,  knowing  nothing  of  what 
lay  ahead.  She  got  away  quicker  than  he;  but  he 
gained  on  her.  The  pursuer  always  has  the  advantage, 
in  that  he  can  measure  his  distance;  and  the  quarry 
must  make  the  pace. 

The  scene  flashed  past  her  like  the  half-sensed  pano- 
rama of  a  hideous  dream.  She  dared  not  look  over 
her  shoulder,  but  she  could  hear  his  heavy  steps  falling 
closer  and  closer.  "He  can  run  faster  than  I,"  she 
thought;  and  a  dreadful  sinking  clutched  her  heart. 
She  hazarded  a  fearful  glance  at  the  water  below. 
The  man's  fingers  clawed  at  her  back.  In  another 
instant  she  would  have  leapt  over;  but  she  felt  the 
ground  tremble  and  give  under  her  feet.  She  staggered, 
and  with  a  desperate  leap,  gained  a  firm  foothold 
beyond.  Behind  herewith  a  rumble  and  a  hissing 


70  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

roar  a  great  section  of  the  bank  half  slid,  half  fell  to 
the  river  beach  beneath,  carrying  down  bushes,  trees, 
stones  —  and  her  pursuer. 

She  ran  on  without  a  backward  look.  In  her 
thankful  heart  she  could  now  spare  a  glance  of  pity 
for  the  half-crazed  man;  but  it  did  not  carry  her  to 
the  length  of  stopping  to  see  what  had  befallen  him. 

A  little  way  farther  on,  the  bank  flattened  down 
into  a  little  valley,  which  conveyed  a  brook  to  the  river. 
A  path  struck  inland  here.  Natalie,  leaping  from 
stone  to  stone  across  the  stream,  suddenly  saw  Garth's 
figure  heave  into  sight  around  a  bend  in  the  path. 
Instantly  she  slackened  her  pace;  and  her  hands 
went  to  her  breast  to  control  the  agitation  of  the  ten- 
ant there.  She  did  not  intend  he  should  learn  what 
had  happened. 

So  when  they  met  she  was  perfectly  quiet;  but  her 
eyes  were  luminous,  and  her  voice  had  a  new  dove- 
like  note.  To  tell  the  truth,  at  the  sight  of  him  striding 
along,  pipe  in  mouth,  with  an  interested  eye  for  all 
that  showed;  so  cool  and  strong;  so  honest  and  clean 
and  young;  after  what  she  had  just  been  through, 
Natalie  was  hard  put  to  it  to  forbear  casting  herself 
on  his  breast  forthwith,  and  letting  her  heart  still 
itself  there. 

He  instantly  started  to  scold  her  for  venturing  so 
far  alone.  She  was  glad  to  be  scolded.  She  could 
not  help  slipping  her  arm  through  his  for  a  moment, 
just  to  feel  that  he  was  there. 


AT    MIWASA    LANDING  71 

"  I  will  be  good,"  she  murmured  in  a  moved,  vibrant 
tone,  like  the  deepest  note  of  the  oboe.  "Hereafter 
I  will  do  exactly  as  you  say." 

Garth  trembled  at  the  sound;  and  was  silent  in  the 
excess  of  his  happiness. 

Returning,  upon  reaching  the  path  up  the  valley, 
she  made  him  turn  inland;  and  they  pursued  a  round- 
about course  back  to  the  hotel.  Nick  Grylls,  unhurt 
except  as  to  certain  abrasions  of  the  countenance,  and 
furiously  sullen,  had  reached  there  before  them.  Dur- 
ing the  rest  of  their  stay  he  carefully  avoided  them; 
but  Garth  was  more  than  once  conscious  of  the  veno- 
mous little  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 


VI 

NATALIE  TELLS  ABOUT  HERSELF 

THE  little  stern-wheeler  lay  with  her  nose  tucked 
comfortably  in  the  mud  of  the  river  bank; 
and  a  hawser  taut  between  her  capstan  and 
a  tree.  Every  soul  on  board,  except  the  three  pas- 
sengers, slept.  Garth  and  Natalie  were  sitting  in  the 
corner  of  the  upper  deck  astern,  on  the  seat  which 
encircles  the  rail.  The  third  passenger,  a  mysterious 
person,  who  all  unknown  to  the  other  two  had  been 
making  it  her  business  to  watch  them,  observing  where 
they  sat,  had  softly  entered  the  end  stateroom;  and 
with  her  head  at  the  window,  stretched  her  ears  to 
hear  their  talk. 

The  Aurora  Borealis,  after  the  loss  of  three  precious 
days,  during  which  Captain  Jack  endlessly  backed 
and  filled,  and  the  water  in  the  river  steadily  fell,  had 
finally  cast  off  that  afternoon;  and  after  ascending 
twenty  miles  or  so,  tied  up  to  the  bank  to  await  the 
dawn.  It  was  now  about  ten;  overcast  above;  velvety 
dark  below;  and  still  as  death.  For  the  first  time 
Garth  and  Natalie  missed,  with  a  catch  in  the  breath, 
the  faint,  domestic  murmur  that  rises  on  the  quietest 

72 


TELLS    ABOUT    HERSELF  73 

night  from  an  inhabited  land.  It  was  so  still  they 
could  occasionally  hear  the  stealthy  fall  of  tiny,  furry 
feet  among  the  leaves  on  shore.  The  trees  kept  watch 
on  the  bank  like  a  regiment  of  shades  at  attention. 
The  moment  provided  Natalie's  opportunity  to  fulfil 
her  promise. 

"I  will  try  to  be  very  frank,"  she  began  by  saying, 
"I  am  so  anxious  you  should  not  misunderstand.  You 
have  been  so  good  to  me!" 

"Please  don't,"  said  Garth  uncomfortably.  "Take 
me  for  granted  as  a  man  would.  I  shall  never  be  at 
ease  with  you,  if  you're  going  to  be  thanking  me  at 
every  opportunity!" 

"I'll  try  not  to,"  she  said  meekly.  The  darkness 
swallowed  the  smile  and  the  shine  her  eyes  bent  on  him. 

If  Garth  expected  a  sad  beginning  he  was  imme- 
ately  undeceived.  Natalie's  invincible  spirits  launched 
her  gaily  on  her  tale. 

"I've  lived  all  my  days  in  a  Canadian  city  back 
East,"  she  began;  "too  big  a  place  to  be  simple;  and 
too  small  to  be  finished.  I  never  appreciated  the 
funny  side  of  it  until  I  travelled.  You  have  no  idea 
of  the  complacency  of  such  a  place,  the  beautiful 
self-sufficiency  of  the  people;  you  should  hear  what 
a  patronizing  tone  they  take  toward  the  outside  world ! 
But  they  have  their  good  points;  they're  kind  and 
friendly  with  each  other;  and  not  nearly  so  snobbish 
as  the  people  of  little  places  are  generally  pictured. 
Everybody  that  is  anybody  knows  all  the  other  some- 


74  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

bodies  so  well,  it's  like  one  great  family.  My  people 
have  lived  there  for  ages;  and  so  everybody  knows 
me;  and  half  of  them  are  my  cousins. 

"We've  always  been  as  poor  as  church  mice,"  she 
continued  in  a  tone  of  cheerful  frankness.  "We  live 
in  a  huge  house  that  is  gradually  coming  down  about 
our  ears;  the  drawing-room  carpet  is  full  of  holes; 
the  old  silver  is  shockingly  dented  and  the  Royal 
Worcester  all  chipped.  There  are  other  household 
secrets  I  need  not  go  into.  People  are  kind  enough 
to  make  believe  not  to  notice  —  even  when  they  get 
a  chunk  of  plaster  on  the  head. 

"Everybody  says  it's  my  father's  fault;  they  say 
he's  a  ne'er-do-weel;  and  even  unkinder  things.  But 
he's  such  a  dear  boy  — "  Natalie's  voice  softened  - 
"as  young,  oh!  years  younger  than  you!  And  every- 
thing invariably  goes  wrong  with  his  affairs,"  she 
continued  briskly;  "but  he  is  always  good-tempered, 
and  never  neglects  to  be  polite  to  the  ladies.  My 
mother  has  been  an  invalid  for  ten  years.  We  do  all 
we  can  for  her;  but,  poor  dear!  she  isn't  much  inter- 
ested in  us!  Can  you  blame  her?  And  I  have  half 
a  dozen  dear,  bad  little  brothers  and  sisters.  We're 
all  exactly  alike;  we  fight  all  the  time  and  love  one 
another  to  distraction. 

"You  see  it's  not  a  picture  of  a  well-ordered  house- 
hold I'm  drawing  you.  Indeed  it's  a  mystery  how  we 
ever  get  along  at  all;  but  we  do,  somehow;  and  no 
one  the  worse.  Fortunately  there  seems  to  be  some- 


TELLS    ABOUT    HERSELF  75 

thing  about  us  that  people  like.  They  just  wag  their 
heads  and  laugh  and  exclaim,  'Oh,  the  Elands!'  and 
don't  expect  anything  better  of  us.  Conversations  are 
started  when  some  one  comes  in  saying:  'Have  you 
heard  the  latest  about  the  Elands?'  I'm  sure  they 
would  be  disappointed  if  we  ever  reformed.  People 
have  always  been  so  kind  to  me  — "  Natalie's  voice 
deepened  again  —  "Ah!  so  very  kind,  it  makes  my 
heart  swell  and  my  eyelids  prickle  when  I  think  of  it. 
I've  been  carried  everywhere  in  luxury  like  an  heiress," 
she  briskened,  "and  there  is  no  doubt  I  have  been 
thoroughly  spoiled." 

Natalie  paused  awhile  here;  and  Garth  apprehended 
that,  the  prologue  finished,  the  story  was  about  to  com- 
mence. 

"A  man,  the  first,  fell  in  love  with  me  when  I  was 
eighteen  —  six  years  ago,"  she  presently  resumed. 
"Of  course  I  do  not  count  all  the  dear,  foolish  boys 
before  that  —  they  say  in  Millerton  that  the  boys 
attach  themselves  to  me  to  finish  their  education  — 
but  that's  all  foolishness.  I'm  so  very  fond  of  boys! 
I  could  laugh  and  hug  them  all!  They're  so  —  so 
theatrical!  But  the  man  was  different;  he  was  fif- 
teen years  older  than  I;  and  alas!  another  ne'er-do- 
weel!  He  had  been  a  football  and  a  cricketing  hero; 
he  was  very  good-looking  in  a  worn-out,  dissipated 
kind  of  a  way.  He  had  gone  to  the  bad  in  all  the  usual 
ways  I  believe  —  even  dishonesty;  though  I  didn't 
learn  that  until  long  afterward."  The  fun  had  died 


76  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

out  of  Natalie's  voice  now.  "It's  a  miserable,  ordinary 
kind  of  a  story,  isn't  it?"  she  said  deprecatingly. 
"Most  girls  go  through  with  it  safely;  but  I  — well 
I  was  the  simple  sprat  that  was  caught! 

"  He  was  returning  to  Millerton  after  a  long  absence,'* 
she  went  on;  "his  people  were  well  known  there. 
He  appeared  to  be  perfectly  mad  about  me;  and  my 
poor  little  head  was  quite  turned.  His  wickedness 
was  vague  and  romantic;  for  no  one  ever  explained 
anything  to  me  of  course;  and  the  idea  of  leading 
him  back  into  the  paths  of  righteousness  was  quite 
distractingly  attractive.  I  had  no  one  to  put  me 
right,  you  see  —  but  perhaps  I  wouldn't  have  listened 
if  I  had  had. 

"I  won't  weary  you  with  all  the  silly  details  of  the 
affair.  My  cheeks  are  burning  now  at  the  thought 
of  my  colossal  folly.  He  won  his  mother  over  to  his 
side.  He  was  an  only  child;  and  she  would  have 
chopped  off  her  hand  to  serve  him.  She  joined  her 
persuasions  to  his.  He  swore  if  I  married  him  he 
would  go  out  West,  turn  over  that  everlasting  new  leaf, 
and  make  his  fortune.  He  wanted  me  to  marry  him 
before  he  went,  so  that  he  could  feel  sure  of  me.  I 
did  balk  at  that;  I  thought  my  word  ought  to  be  suf- 
ficient; but  he  and  his  mother  pleaded  and  pleaded 
with  me.  Together,  they  were  too  much  for  me;  and 
so,  at  last,  I  gave  in.  I  thought  I  would  be  saving 
him;  I  thought  I  loved  him  —  it  is  so  easy  for  children 
to  fool  themselves!  I  married  him." 


TELLS    ABOUT    HERSELF  77 

Natalie  paused;  and  with  the  ceasing  of  her  voice, 
the  great  silence  of  the  North  woods  seemed  to  leap 
between  them,  thrusting  them  asunder.  Garth's 
heart  for  the  journey  was  gone.  He  was  thankful 
for  the  merciful  darkness  that  hid  his  face. 

Presently  she  resumed  in  the  toneless  voice  of  one 
who  tells  what  cannot  be  mended:  "We  were  married 
in  Toronto.  His  mother  and  the  clergyman  were  the 
only  witnesses.  The  instant  the  words  were  spoken, 
the  whole  extent  of  the  hideous  mistake  I  had  made 
was  revealed  to  me  —  why  is  it  we  see  so  clearly  then  ? 
We  went  direct  from  the  ceremony  to  the  station, 
where  he  boarded  his  train  for  the  West.  I  have  not 
laid  eyes  on  him  since.  His  name  is  Herbert  Mabyn  — 
and  that,  of  course,  is  my  legal  name,  which  I  have 
never  used.  It  was  his  mother  you  met  in  Prince 
George." 

Garth  drew  a  deep  breath;  and  carefully  schooled 
his  voice.  "Is  he  alive  ?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"   she  said.     "My  journey  is  to  find  him." 

"Was   it  necessary   for  you  to   come?". he   asked. 

"There  was  no  one  else,"  she  said.  "No  one  but 
Mrs.  Mabyn  and  he  and  I  know  of  the  marriage. 
There  were  many  reasons  —  and  complicated  ones. 
I  do  wish  to  be  frank  with  you;  but  I  scarcely  know 
how  to  explain.  Only  one  thing  is  clear  to  me;  I 
had  to  come;  or  never  know  peace  again. 

"I  have  a  conscience,"  she  went  on  presently;  "a 
queer,  twisted  thing;  and  with  every  man  tha{  became 
fond  of  me,  thinking  I  was  free,  it  hurt  me  more  — 


78 

though  perhaps  it  did  them  no  real  harm.  And  then 
there  was  Mrs.  Mabyn  —  how  can  I  explain  to  you 
about  her  ?" 

"I  think  I  understand,"  Garth  put  in. 

"She  has  been  very  kind  to  me  all  these  years;  but 
it  was  a  kind  of  tyrannical  kindness,  too  —  it  was  as 
if  she  was  tying  me  to  her  with  one  chain  of  kindness 
after  another.  And  I  wished  to  live  my  own  life! 
And  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  only  way  in  which  I  could 
discharge  my  obligations  to  her,  and  win  my  freedom, 
was  by  doing  this  thing,  which  she  so  ardently  desires. 
She  believes,  you  see,  that  I  am  the  only  one  who  can 
save  him." 

Garth  muttered  something  which  sounded  uncom- 
plimentary to  Mrs.  Mabyn. 

"But  I  am  really  fond  of  her,"  Natalie  said  quickly. 
"She  has  a  mortal  disease,"  she  added;  "one  must 
make  allowances  for  that." 

"Where  is  be?"  Garth  asked. 

"His  last  letter,  eight  months  ago,  was  post-marked 
Spirit  River  Crossing,"  she  said.  "We  gathered  from 
it  that  he  had  a  place  somewhere  near  there.  We 
know  very  little.  At  first  he  wrote  often  and  cheer- 
fully; he  seemed  to  be  getting  on:  but  later,  he  moved 
about  a  great  deal;  his  letters  came  at  longer  intervals; 
and  the  tone  of  them  changed.  His  mother  thinks 
his  health  has  broken  down.  I  am  to  find  out;  and 
to  save  him,  if  I  can." 

There  was  a  long  silence  here.     Garth   could    not 


TELLS    ABOUT   HERSELF  79 

speak  for  the  fear  of  betraying  an  indignation  which 
could  only  have  hurt  her;  and  Natalie  was  busy  with 
her  own  painful  thoughts. 

"There  is  something  else,"  she  resumed  at  last  in 
a  very  low  tone.  "I  have  not  yet  been  quite  frank 
with  you  —  and  I  do  so  wish  to  be !  You  must  not 
think  I  am  undertaking  this  purely  on  his  mother's 
account;  for  there  is  a  selfish  reason  too.  In  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  there  is  a  hope  —  perhaps  it  is 
a  wicked  hope  —  but  if  you  knew  how  this  collar 
has  galled  me!"  She  stopped;  and  then  quickly 
resumed.  "I  married  this  man  with  my  eyes  open; 
and  I  will  do  my  part  by  him  —  but  if — "  her  voice 
fell  again  —  "if  it  has  not  helped  him;  if  in  spite  of 
my  honest  efforts  to  save  him,  and  all  the  letters  I 
wrote,  if  he  has  fallen  lower  than  ever,  and  has  ceased 
to  struggle  —  then  I  will  consider  my  part  done ! " 

There  seemed  to  be  no  more  to  say.  Garth's  heart 
was  beating  fast;  and  he  was  longing  to  tell  her  that 
he  understood,  and  that  he  loved  and  admired  her 
for  what  she  had  told  him,  but  he  could  not  tell  her 
coldly,  and  he  would  not  tell  her  warmly.  As  for 
Natalie,  she  waited  breathlessly  for  his  first  word; 
mightily  desiring  his  approval,  but  too  proud  to  ask 
it.  Finally  she  could  stand  the  suspense  no  longer 
and  pride  succumbed.  It  took  her  a  long  time  to 
get  the  question  out. 

"  Are  you  —  are  you  sorry  you  volunteered  to  take 
me  ?"  she  faltered. 


80  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"No!"  cried  Garth  in  a  great  voice. 

She  found  his  hand  in  the  darkness;  and  gave  it 
a  swift,  grateful  squeeze.  "Good  night J"  she  whis- 
pered; and  ran  to  her  stateroom. 

Garth,  with  his  pipe  and  the  mighty  stillness  to 
bear  him  company,  remained  on  deck  until  dawn. 
In  the  spirit  of  the  North  he  discovered  something 
akin  to  his  own  soul;  the  solitude  and  the  stillness 
braced  him  to  deny  himself  manfully  what  was  not 
manfully  his  to  have.  In  the  act  of  relinquishing 
Natalie,  he  felt,  what  he  would  not  have  supposed 
possible,  a  great,  added  tenderness  for  her.  Before 
he  went  in,  his  sober  cheerfulness  had  returned;  but 
in  the  morning  he  was  somehow  more  mature. 


VII 

MARY  CO-QUE-WASA'S    ERRAND 

A  NOON  next  day  the  little  Aurora  Borealis 
was  reclining  drunkenly  on  a  shoal  in  the 
river  at  the  foot  of  Caliper  island,  sixty  miles 
above  the  Landing,  and  fifteen  below  the  Warehouse. 
This  had  been  the  place  of  Captain  Jack's  gloomy 
forebodings  all  the  way  up.  The  river  spread  wide, 
shallow  and  swift  on  either  side  the  island,  and  neither 
one  channel  nor  the  other  would  permit  their  ascent. 
The  Aurora  was  having  a  little  breathing  space  on  the 
shoal,  while  Captain  Jack  and  St.  Paul,  the  big  half- 
breed  pilot,  debated  below  on  what  to  do. 

The  three  passengers  looked  on  from  the  upper  deck. 
Natalie  and  Garth  tacitly  ignored  any  change  in 
their  relation  to-day;  and  no  reference  was  made 
to  Natalie's  story.  They  seemed,  if  anything,  more 
friendly  with  each  other;  nevertheless  Constraint, 
like  a  spectre  standing  between  them,  intercepted 
all  their  communications. 

The  third  passenger  was  a  half-breed  woman  near- 
ing  middle  age,  clad  in  a  decent  black  print  dress,  and 
a  black  straw  hat,  under  the  brim  of  which  depended 

81 


82  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

a  circlet  of  attenuated,  grizzled  curls.  Her  face,  like 
that  of  all  the  natives  in  the  presence  of  whites, 
expressed  a  blank,  in  her  case  a  mysterious  blank. 
She  was  silent  and  ubiquitous;  whichever  way  they 
looked,  there  she  was.  Captain  Jack  had  mentioned 
to  Garth  that  her  name  was  Mary  Co-que-wasa.  The 
off-hand  shrug  that  accompanied  the  information, 
between  men,  was  significant.  Garth  resented  it; 
and  his  sympathies  were  enlisted.  He  had  made 
several  efforts  to  talk  to  the  woman,  only  to  be  received 
with  a  stupid  shake  of  the  head.  He  thought  she 
could  not  speak  English.  Natalie,  more  keenly  intui- 
tive, took  an  active  dislike  to  her.  "I'm  sure  she 
listens  to  us,"  she  had  said. 

Meanwhile,  preparations  were  undertaken  to  hoist 
the  Aurora  Borealis  by  main  strength  up  the  rapids. 
The  "skiff,"  as  they  whimsically  termed  the  steam- 
boat's great,  clumsy  tender  —  its  official  name  of 
"sturgeon-head"  was  more  descriptive  —  was  brought 
alongside;  and  a  half-mile  of  hawser,  more  or  less, 
patiently  coiled  in  the  bottom.  The  end  of  this  rope 
was  made  fast  on  board  the  steamer,  and  the  skiff, 
pushing  off,  was  poled  and  tracked  up  the  rapids  with 
heart-breaking  labour,  paying  out  the  hawser  over  her 
stern  as  she  went.  The  other  end  of  the  rope  was  made 
fast  to  a  great  tree  on  the  shore  above,  and,  the  skiff 
returning,  the  inboard  end  was  turned  about  the 
capstan:  Steam  was  then  turned  on,  and  with  a 
great  to-do  of  puffing  and  clanking,  the  Aurora 


MARY'S    ERRAND  83 

started  to  haul  herself  up  hand  over  hand,  as  one 
might  say. 

Alas!  she  had  no  sooner  raised  her  head  than  the 
hawser  parted  in  the  middle  with  a  report  like  a  small 
cannon,  and  she  settled  dejectedly  back  on  the  shoal. 

Captain  Jack  refreshed  himself  with  a  pull  at  the 
Spring  Tonic  bottle;  and  started  all  over.  A  newer 
piece  of  hawser  was  produced,  and  the  skiff  despatched 
once  more  on  its  laborious  errand.  The  loose  end  was 
finally  picked  up  and  knotted,  and  the  capstan  started 
again.  But  no  better  success  followed,  as  soon  as 
the  full  strain  came  upon  it,  the  rope  burst  asunder  in  a 
new  place.  After  this  they  went  around  the  other  side 
of  the  island  and  tried  there.  Each  attempt  consumed 
an  hour  or  more,  but  time  is  nothing  in  the  North. 

At  five  o'clock,  after  the  failure  of  the  fourth  attempt, 
Captain  Jack  threw  up  his  hands,  and  turned  the 
Aurora  s  nose  down-stream.  The  little  boat,  which 
had  sulked  and  hung  back  in  the  rapids  all  day,  picked 
up  her  heels,  and  hustled  down  with  the  current,  like 
a  wilful  child  that  obtains  its  own  way  at  last. 

Garth,  in  dismay,  hastened  to  Captain  Jack. 

"Where  are  we  going  ?"  he  demanded. 

Captain  Jack  cocked  an  eye,  and  said  with  his  air 
of  gloomy  fatalism:  "The  Landing's  the  only  place 
for  me." 

Garth  became  hot  under  the  collar,  as  he  always  did 
in  dealing  with  the  pessimistic  skipper.  "  But  we're 
only  fifteen  miles  from  the  Warehouse!"  he  cried. 


84  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"Might  as  well  be  fifteen  hundred,"  said  Captain 
Jack,  "for  all  I  can  get  you  there." 

"Is  there  no  house  anywhere  near  ?" 

The  skipper  looked  at  him  with  gloomy  scorn. 
"Say,  do  you  think  you* re  in  a  rural  neighbourhood  ?" 
he  inquired. 

"I  asked  you  a  question,"  Garth  repeated.  "Is 
there  any  one  living  near  here?" 

Captain  Jack  shrugged.  "  Sometimes  there's  breeds 
at  Bear  Portage  below,"  he  said.  "But  not  in  the 
summer." 

"Is   there   no   road?" 

"Not  what  you'd  call  a  road.  How  would  you 
carry  your  outfit  ? " 

This  was  a  poser,  Garth  could  not  deny.  "Where 
are  the  breeds  in  the  summer?"  he  demanded. 

Captain  Jack  flung  up  his  hands.  "God  knows!" 
he  said.  "Pitching  somewheres  about  between  the 
East  and  the  West!" 

Garth  set  his  jaw.  "Well,  there's  some  way  of 
reaching  the  Warehouse,"  he  said,  "and  I'm  going 
to  find  it.  You  stop  at  Bear  Portage,  as  you  call  it, 
and  I'll  see  what  I  can  do." 

"Sure!"  said  Captain  Jack  hopelessly.  "As  long 
as  you  like —  But  you'll  never  make  it!"  he  added 
with  an  atrabilious  eye.  "Never  in  God's  world! 
You  better  take  my  advice  and  get  out  of  the  country 
while  you  can!" 

Garth  turned  on  his  heel,  and  Captain  Jack  revisited 


MARY'S    ERRAND  85 

his  stateroom  for  consolation.  Here,  two  shelves  at 
the  foot  of  his  berth  contained  his  pharmaceutical  stock 
in  ancient,  torn  and  fly-specked  wrappers.  He  bought 
every  new  variety  of  remedy  he  heard  of  with  the 
ardour  of  a  collector.  One  of  his  most  serious  occu- 
pations was  to  lie  in  bed  in  the  morning,  making  up 
his  mind  what  to  begin  the  day  on.  Endless  and 
ingenious  were  the  combinations  he  made. 

They  tied  up  at  Bear  Portage  and  had  supper. 
Afterward,  three  breed  boys  with  their  scent  for 
happenings  in  the  bush,  as  unerring  and  mysterious 
as  the  buzzard's  scent  for  carrion,  turned  up  from 
nowhere,  and  at  the  same  time  a  fourth  came  nosing 
under  the  bank  in  a  crazy  dug-out  filled  with  grass. 
So  soft  was  the  arrival  of  the  last  that  Garth  was  not 
aware  of  it,  until  he  happened  to  catch  sight  of  Mary 
Co-que-wasa  deep  in  a  whispered  consultation  with 
the  paddler.  Finding  Garth's  eyes  upon  her,  Mary, 
with  a  hasty  word  to  the  boy,  embarked,  and  the  canoe's 
nose  was  turned  up-stream.  As  a  possible  means  of 
transport  later,  Garth  called  after  the  boy;  but  he 
only  paddled  the  faster.  The  incident  caused  Garth 
a  vague  uneasiness. 

In  the  other  three  he  found  a  means,  such  as  it  was, 
of  extricating  them  from  their  dilemma.  He  learned 
through  St.  Paul,  who  interpreted,  that  there  was  a 
camp  of  Indians  engaged  in  cutting  wild  hay,  seven 
miles  off,  and  that  a  wagon  and  team  could  be  got 
there  next  morning,  to  carry  them  and  their  goods  to 


86  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

the  Warehouse.  At  the  mention  of  seven  miles,  Garth 
looked  dubiously  at  Natalie,  but  she  stoutly  averred 
her  ability  to  do  it  twice  if  necessary,  and  since  nothing 
better  offered,  Garth  hired  the  boys  to  show  the  way 
and  carry  the  baggage. 

The  Aurora  Borealis  presently  backed  off,  and  blithely 
kicking  up  the  water  astern,  disappeared  down  the  river. 
Her  going  out  severed  their  last  bond  with  the  world 
of  civilization  and  henceforth  they  must  fend  for 
themselves  in  the  wilderness.  Natalie  looked  around 
at  the  grim,  empty  woods,  and  at  the  strange,  alien 
boys  who  were  to  conduct  them;  and  instinctively  put 
out  her  hand  to  Garth. 

The  eldest  and  smartest  of  the  breeds  was  a  beady- 
eyed  youth  answering  to  the  name  of  Pake.  When 
the  Aurora  passed  out  of  sight  his  demeanour  changed. 
It  was  not  that  he  became  openly  insolent,  but  what 
was  harder  for  Garth  to  deal  with,  he  was  blandly  and 
blankly  indifferent  to  the  whites.  Garth  inwardly 
fumed,  and  there  was  a  heavy  weight  of  anxiety,  too, 
for  Natalie.  Pake  constructed  packing  harness  out 
of  rope,  and  divided  all  their  goods  into  five  lots,  of 
which  four  were  of  about  equal  weight,  and  the  fifth 
lighter.  This  one  Garth  supposed  was  for  Natalie, 
though  he  thought  it  too  heavy,  but  to  his  astonishment 
he  learned  Pake  intended  the  light  pack  for  himself, 
and  one  of  the  others  for  Natalie.  Upon  Garth's 
vigorous  objections,  Pake  coolly  added  the  greater  part 
of  Natalie's  load  to  Garth's, 


MARY'S    ERRAND  87 

Hampered  as  he  was  by  his  augmented  pack,  Garth 
still  managed  to  carry  his  rifle  across  his  arm.  And 
yet  St.  Paul,  who  interpreted  for  him,  had  assured  him 
these  were  good  boys  and  would  treat  him  well.  St. 
Paul  was  right,  when  Garth  had  been  in  the  country 
longer  he  learned  this  was  simply  the  breed  way. 
Only  superior,  or  at  least  equal,  numbers  will  impress 
them,  and  then  they  are  obsequious  enough  in  good 
sooth. 

Whatever  Natalie  thought  of  their  situation,  she  put 
on  a  bold  air.  As  they  started  Indian  file,  under  the 
great  trees  in  the  gathering  dusk,  the  three  swarthy 
youths  in  advance  bowed  under  their  packs:  "Look!" 
she  cried.  "Isn't  it  like  the  frontispiece  to  a  book  of 
adventure!" 

The  breeds  inherit  from  the  red  side  of  the  house 
a  shuffling  half-trot,  produced  with  steady  shoulders 
and  rolling  hips,  that  is  a  good  deal  faster  than  it  looks. 
Natalie  with  her  tiny  bundle  had  much  ado  to  keep  up, 
and  Garth  under  his,  plodded  doggedly  behind,  with 
breaking  neck  and  shoulders.  The  breeds,  careless 
of  their  fate,  never  once  looked  behind.  Garth  had  to 
keep  them  in  sight,  or  instantly  lose  the  faint  trail  in 
the  darkness. 

After  several  miles  of  this,  without  warning,  the 
breeds  simultaneously  cast  their  packs  on  the  ground, 
and  took  a  rest.  Every  move  these  strange  creatures 
made  was  unexpected.  Garth  laboriously  ridding  him- 
self of  his  burden,  proceeded  to  read  them  a  severe 


88  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

lecture  on  the  necessity  of  accommodating  their  pace 
to  the  lady's  for  the  rest  of  the  way.  It  was  received 
with  stolid,  uncomprehending  stares. 

Among  themselves  they  gossiped  freely  enough,  and 
from  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the  word  moon-i-yasy 
Garth  knew  that  he  and  Natalie  were  the  subject  of  it 
all.  The  discomforting  thought  did  not  fail  to  suggest 
itself  that  they  might  be  hatching  a  plot  in  the  very 
presence  of  their  intended  victims.  Their  outfit,  Garth 
reflected,  must  seem  a  very  fortune  to  the  ragged  breeds. 
He  watched  them  closely. 

Presently  they  set  off  again  as  fast  as  ever,  where- 
upon Garth  did  as  he  should  have  done  at  first,  lost 
his  temper,  and  swore  at  them  roundly.  Pake  looked 
around  with  a  gleam  of  awakened  intelligence,  and 
slackened  his  pace.  After  a  brief  consultation,  Pake 
and  another  set  off  in  advance  with  their  share  of  the 
goods,  leaving  the  third  boy  to  guide  the  feebler  steps 
of  the  two  moon-i-yas.  Garth  wondered  if  they  would 
ever  see  Pake  and  the  boxes  again. 

It  was  a  long  seven  miles;  and  absolute  darkness 
clothed  the  lofty  aisles  of  the  pine  trees  long  before 
they  finished  passing  through;  and  beyond  there  were 
interminable,  misty  meadows  of  wild  grass  to  be  crossed. 
Garth  could  no  longer  distinguish  any  sign  of  a  trail; 
but  the  breed  bent  steadily  ahead.  Once  or  twice  an 
owl  whirred  suddenly  low  over  their  heads;  and  some- 
where far  off  a  loon  guffawed  insanely.  In  the  end  their 
guide,  to  cheer  his  own  soul,  lifted  up  his  voice  in  the 


MARY'S    ERRAND  89 

strident,  unearthly  chant  of  the  Crees;  and  it  only 
needed  this  to  add  the  last  touch  of  unreality  to  their 
eerie  journey.  They  began  to  feel  like  spirits  after 
death,  hurried  in  the  darkness  they  knew  not  whither. 

At  last  a  bright  light  flared  suddenly  across  the 
hay  marsh;  and  from  their  guide's  joyful  exclamation, 
they  gathered  that  it  marked  the  end  of  their  journey. 
Fire  was  something  human  and  known;  and  amazingly 
cheering.  They  covered  the  last  lap  at  a  brisk  pace. 

Five  tepees,  faintly  phosphorescent  with  interior 
fires,  stood  in  a  line  where  the  pine  trees  bounded  the 
hay  marsh.  Garth's  mind  was  relieved  to  find  Pake 
waiting  with  the  balance  of  the  outfit  intact.  The 
fire  they  had  seen  was  from  an  armful  of  brush  lighted 
for  a  beacon  to  guide  them.  The  people  were  all 
within.  The  three  breed  boys'  dived  into  the  prin- 
cipal tepee  without  ceremony,  leaving  Garth  and 
Natalie  standing  rather  foolishly  outside.  They  were 
evidently  expected  to  follow;  for  presently  a  head  was 
stuck  inquiringly  outside;  and  what  they  took  for  an 
invitation  to  enter  was  delivered  in  Cree. 

"Let  us  go  in,"  whispered  Natalie.  "I'm  crazy  to 
see  what  it's  like!" 

Without  more  ado,  she  lifted  the  flap  which  covered 
the  entrance,  and  crawled,  blinking,  into  the  light 
Garth  close  at  her  heels. 

A  fire  was  built  on  the  ground  in  the  centre  of  the 
tepee;  and  the  smoke,  filling  the  apex,  finally  found 
itself  out  at  the  top.  Around  the  fire  was  grouped  a 


90  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

motley,  gipsy  crew  of  all  ages;  the  elders  in  the  place 
of  honour  above  the  fire;  the  children  by  the  door.  The 
firelight  threw  their  copper-coloured  faces  into  strong 
relief;  each  wore  an  expression  of  stolid  expectation. 
Stolidity  is  the  pet  affectation  of  the  breed;  at  heart 
he  is  as  garrulous  as  an  ape.  Like  mongrels  generally, 
their  manners  were  bad;  a  grunt  served  for  welcome, 
and  places  were  coolly  pointed  out  where  they  should 
sit. 

With  that  the  guests  were  forthwith  yielded  up  to 
discussion,  while  the  whole  circle  stared  at  them  as  if 
they  were  vegetables.  In  especial,  the  children  sit- 
ting across  the  fire,  transfixed  them  with  eyes,  under 
each  mop  of  raven  hair,  as  hard,  bright  and  unwinking 
as  the  eyes  of  little  birds  of  prey.  Young  Pake  sat  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  principal  man  —  a  personage 
in  frayed  overalls  and  cotton  shirt,  with  a  scarlet  hand- 
kerchief about  his  temples  —  and  called  attention  to 
the  points  of  the  two  moon-i-yas  like  their  showman. 
After  all  the  elders  had  partaken  of  tea,  somebody 
recollected  to  thrust  the  battered  pot  at  Garth  and 
Natalie,  with  two  more  than  doubtful  tin  cups.  They 
declined  to  partake. 

Garth  was  fuming.     "  Let's  get  out,"  he  whispered. 

"Just  a  minute,"  Natalie  begged,  with  bright  eyes. 
"Never  mind  their  manners.  It's  all  so  strange  and 
different!" 

Presently  the  preparations  for  retiring,  which  their 
arrival  had  probably  interrupted,  were  resumed. 


MARY'S    ERRAND  91 

Hideously  dirty  and  torn  comforters  with  protruding 
cotton  filling,  were  spread  on  the  ground;  and  individuals 
began  to  roll  up,  feet  to  the  fire.  A  woman  indicated 
a  place  for  Garth  and  Natalie,  side  by  side.  When 
her  meaning  became  clear,  they  elaborately  avoided 
each  other's  eyes,  and  Natalie  beat  a  hasty  retreat  out- 
side. She  never  again  expressed  a  wish  to  enter  a 
tepee.  Garth,  blushing  to  the  roots  of  his  hair,  ex- 
plained that  they  preferred  to  sleep  outside.  The 
breeds  let  them  go,  with  a  shrug  for  the  queer  ways  of 
the  moon-i-yas. 

Garth  pitched  the  little  tent  he  had  for  Natalie  under 
the  pine  trees  at  a  short  distance,  and  spread  her  bed 
on  balsam  boughs  inside,  with  tender  hands.  Natalie 
had  suddenly  half  collapsed  like  a  sleepy  child.  She 
disappeared  with  a  murmured  good  night,  and  was 
heard  of  no  more  until  morning.  Garth  spread  his 
own  bed  under  the  stars,  athwart  the  door  of  the  tent. 
He  remembered,  before  turning  in,  that  they  lacked 
water,  and  returned  to  the  tepee  to  ask  where  it  was 
to  be  procured.  As  he  entered  the  second  time,  his 
attention  was  arrested  by  the  sound  of  Mary  Co-que- 
wasa's  name  on  Pake's  lips. 

"Who  is  Mary  Co-que-wasa  ?"  he  asked,  recollect- 
ing his  previous  uneasiness. 

It  appeared  they  could  understand  English  well 
enough  when  they  had  a  mind  to.  The  women  visibly 
bridled,  as  women  white  or  red  will  do,  when  an  erring 
ewe  of  the  flock  is  mentioned  in  company. 


92  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"  Mary  Coque-wasa  —  one  —  bad  —  woman,"  said 
one,  with  the  toneless  enunciation  of  a  parrot. 

Another  volunteered  further  information  in  Cree, 
in  which  the  names  of  Mary  and  Nick  Grylls  were 
coupled. 

"What's    that?"    demanded    the    startled    Garth. 

"  Mary  Co-que-wasa  —  Nick  Grylls's  —  woman," 
said  his  first  informant. 

That  was  all  he  could  get  out  of  them.  It  did  not 
conduce  to  the  ease  of  his  first  bed  in  the  wilderness. 

In  the  morning  Natalie  issued  forth  radiant;  and 
Garth  marvelled  afresh  at  the  vision  of  urban  perfection 
she  made  in  the  wilderness.  He  was  blowing  the  fire  at 
the  time;  a  typical  tenderfoot's  fire,  all  tinder  and  no 
fuel,  at  which  the  breeds  grinned  askance.  He  soon 
learned  better.  The  breeds  haunted  their  camp, 
enjoying  their  struggles  with  that  superior,  insulting 
grin.  Natalie,  rolling  up  her  sleeves,  announced  her 
intention  of  cooking  the  breakfast,  while  Garth  struck 
camp.  She  who  had  never  cooked  under  the  best  of 
conditions,  had  a  sad  time  of  it  balancing  a  frying  pan  on 
a  fire  of  twigs,  and  keeping  the  water  in  the  pot  long 
enough  for  it  to  come  to  a  boil.  They  were  sad-looking 
lumps  of  bacon  that  she  offered  Garth,  burnt  withal, 
and  she  gravely  informed  him  there  was  a  small  slice  of 
her  thumb  cooked  up  with  it.  The  cocoa,  too,  which 
obstinately  refused  to  dissolve  in  a  cold  element,  was 
watery  and  full  of  lumps;  however  they  still  had  civilized 


MARY'S    ERRAND  93 

bread  and  butter;  and  Garth  would  have  eaten  Paris 
green  with  gusto,  if  offered  with  the  same  appealing 
smile. 

Afterward  an  ancient  box  wagon  came  rattling  up, 
drawn  by  two  champing  cayuses,  guided  by  Pake,  the 
"wise  guy"  of  the  bush.  The  duffle  was  thrown  in; 
Pake  and  one  of  his  brethren  coolly  preempted  the  box, 
allowing  Garth  and  Natalie  to  dispose  themselves  as 
they  chose  among  the  freight;  and  they  set  off  at  a  smart 
pace  across  the  gloriously  sunny  meadow. 

It  was  rough  enough  in  all  conscience;  and  in  spite 
of  every  effort  to  brace  themselves  in  the  body  of  the 
wagon,  they  were  shaken  about  like  corn  in  a  hopper. 
But  in  the  bush  it  was  worse;  there,  though  their  pace 
necessarily  slackened,  what  with  the  holes,  roots, 
stumps  and  fallen  trunks,  they  had  seldom  more 
than  two  wheels  on  the  ground;  and  more  than  once 
all  that  stood  between  them  and  a  total  capsize  was 
Pake's  dexterous  wrist.  There  were  deep  gullies, 
down  which  they  precipitated  themselves,  almost 
turning  the  wagon  over  on  the  horses*  backs  at  the 
bottom;  and  the  climbs  up  the  other  side  were  heart- 
breaking. Pake  was  often  obliged  to  descend  and 
chop;  and  on  the  whole  progress  was  so  slow,  Garth 
decided  they  might  venture  to  insure  their  necks 
by  walking. 

So  he  and  Natalie  strode  on  ahead,  pausing  here  and 
there  to  pick  the  delicious  acrid  mooseberries,  and 
discussing  their  problems.  Their  talk  was  chiefly  of 


94  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Nick  Grylls.  Natalie  finally  confessed  what  had  hap- 
pened at  the  Landing. 

"You  should  have  told  me  immediately,"  Garth 
said  with  a  frown. 

Natalie  looked  "poor,"  as  she  called  it.  "I  was 
afraid  you'd  send  me  home,"  she  said.  "Now  you 
can't,"  she  added  provokingly. 

Garth  in  turn  told  her  what  he  had  learned  the  night 
before. 

"Look  here,"  said  Natalie  frankly;  "what  is  the  use 
of  our  hiding  these  things  from  each  other  ?  Let  us 
promise  to  tell  everything  that  happens  after  this. 
You  wanted  me  to  take  you  for  granted  as  if  I  were  a 
man.  You  treat  me  like  a  man  and  I  will." 

Garth  smiled;  and  promised  to  try  — just  as  she  had 
done  on  a  similar  occasion. 

"I  wish  I  had  some  men's  clothes,"  said  Natalie 
stoutly;  frowning  as  girls  always  do,  when  they  see 
themselves  in  that  character.  And  in  the  very  act  of 
wishing  it,  she  forgot;  and  drove  home  her  femininity. 
Tipping  a  palmful  of  mooseberries  into  her  mouth, 
"  Wouldn't  I  look  nice !"  she  said  with  a  sidewise  sparkle. 

Garth,  swallowing  a  sigh,  smiled,  and  allowed  that 
she  would. 

They  speculated  on  what  Mary  Co-que-wasa's 
errand  might  be;  neither  of  them  was  experienced  in 
villainy.  There,  in  the  matter-of-fact  daylight,  and, 
as  Natalie  said,  on  Sunday,  August  the  fifth  now,  it 
was  impossible  for  the  thought  of  one  silent  old  woman 


MARY'S    ERRAND  95 

to  cause  them  much  uneasiness;  besides,  they  presently 
expected  to  join  forces  with  the  Bishop's  ample  party. 
Nothing  nearly  so  simple  and  devilish  as  the  actual  truth 
occurred  to  them;  and  it  was  brought  home  with  the 
force  of  a  blow,  when  they  reached  the  Warehouse. 

About  eleven,  a  final  descent  brought  them  to  the 
shore  of  a  demure  little  river  flowing  softly  between 
high  banks  —  Musquasepi,  that  they  were  to  know 
so  well.  Off  to  the  left  it  merged  into  the  muddier 
waters  of  the  "big"  river.  On  the  further  shore  stood 
the  Warehouse  they  had  heard  of  so  often. 

"Oh!"  said  Natalie.  "Only  another  little  log 
shack!  Why  I  imagined  a  —  a " 

"Five-story  stone  front?"  suggested  Garth. 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "but  not  that!" 

On  the  hither  side  was  a  solitary  cabin;  and  in  the 
doorway  stood  a  breed,  outwardly  of  a  different  pattern 
from  any  they  had  seen  —  but  after  all  not  so  different. 
He  was  clad  in  decent  Sunday  blacks  minus  the  coat; 
and  wore  heavy-rimmed  spectacles  which  he  took  off 
when  he  really  wished  to  see.  On  the  table  within  was 
ostentatiously  spread  an  open  Bible  —  the  sharp-eyed 
Natalie  took  note  that  it  was  upside  down.  This 
young  man  had  a  heavy  expression  of  conscious  respon- 
sibility, before  which  the  insouciant  Pake  visibly 
quailed.  Pake  indicated  to  Garth  that  Ancose  Mackey 
stood  before  him. 

"Where  is  the  Bishop?"  Garth  demanded 
impatiently. 


96  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Ancose  blandly  ignored  the  question  for  the  present. 
"How-do-you-do,  sir,"  he  said,  like  a  mechanical  doll, 
at  the  same  time  politely  extending  his  hand. 

Garth,  shaking  it  hastily,  repeated  his  question  —  but 
the  young  man  was  not  to  be  hurried  over  any  of  his 
self-pleasing  formalities. 

"How-do-you-do,  sir,"  he  repeated  to  Natalie  in 
precisely  the  same  tone,  gravely  shaking  hands  with 
her. 

Then  they  must  needs  come  in  and  sit  down,  while 
their  host  made  a  remark  on  the  weather,  and  informed 
them,  with  an  air,  that  he  was  a  very  good  reader.  He 
wrapped  his  Bible  in  an  end  of  comforter,  and  pulling 
a  doll's  trunk  from  under  the  bed,  put  it  away.  Natalie 
had  a  glimpse  of  the  contents  of  the  trunk;  she  said 
afterward,  it  was  like  the  inside  of  his  head;  beside  the 
Bible,  there  were  sundry  pieces  of  dried  moose  meat, 
a  gaudy  silk  handkerchief,  tobacco  and  a  brass  watch- 
chain  of  the  size  of  a  small  cable.  He  took  out  the 
latter  and  put  it  on. 

Finally  he  appeared  to  hear  Garth's  question. 
"Bishop  gone  up  little  river.  Four  days,"  he  said. 

"Some  one  was  to  meet  me  here,"  said  Garth 
confidently. 

An  expression  of  genuine  concern  appeared  under 
Ancose  Mackey's  solemn  mugging.  "You  Garth 
Pevensey?"  he  asked. 

Garth  nodded. 

Ancose' s  English  was  not  equal  to  the  situation.     He 


MARY'S    ERRAND  97 

turned  quickly  to  Pake,  squatting  in  the  doorway,  and 
exploded  in  Cree.  Pake  answered  in  kind.  It  takes 
a  roundabout  course  to  say  anything  of  an  abstract 
nature  in  Cree.  Finally  Garth  heard  the  ominous 
name  of  Mary  Co-que-wasa  enter  into  their  discourse. 

"What  is  it?"  he  demanded  impatiently. 

Ancose  turned  a  long  face  to  him.  "  Bad  medicine 
here,"  he  said.  "Bishop  send  ol'  Pierre  Toma  down 
from  head  of  rapids  with  him  team  to  get  you,"  he 
went  on,  struggling  manfully  with  his  English.  "Ol' 
Pierre  stay  to  me  three  days  of  waiting.  Las'  night 
come  boy  up  big  river  in  canoe.  Boy  say  to  ol'  Pierre, 
Cap'n  Jack  stuck  at  Caliper  Island.  Boy  say,  Cap'n 
Jack  want  tell  to  Bishop,  Garth  Pevensey  no  can  come. 
Garth  Pevensey  him  gone  back  outside." 

Garth  and  Natalie  looked  at  each  other  in  dismay. 

"Mary  Co-que-wasa  do  this,"  added  Ancose.  "Him 
no  speak  never  true." 

"Of  course!"  said  Natalie.  "She  knew  they 
wouldn't  believe  her,  so  she  sent  the  boy  up,  while 
she  waited  below." 

"Where's  the  boy?"  Garth  demanded. 

Ancose  shrugged.  "Gone  down,"  he  said.  "No 
can  catch  now." 

"When  did  Pierre  Toma  go  back?" 

"Early,"  said  Ancose.  "Five  hours.  Him  horses 
fresh."  ' 

"Maybe  we  can  catch  them  yet!"  cried  Garth. 
"How  much  to  the  head  of  the  rapids,  Pake  ?" 


98  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Pake  had  ample  English  to  make  a  good  bargain. 
However,  it  was  finally  struck;  and  cutting  Ancose 
Mackey's  elaborate  adieus  very  short,  they  took  to  the 
road  again. 

They  had  twenty-five  miles  to  cover.  This  part  of 
the  trail  is  considerably  used  in  freighting  goods 
around  the  rapids,  and  in  the  North  it  is  considered  a 
good  road,  though  the  travellers'  bones  bore  testimony 
to  the  contrary  for  several  succeeding  days.  Pake, 
with  the  prospect  of  a  substantial  bonus  before  him, 
did  not  spare  his  horses;  but  the  grass-fed  beasts  had 
already  lost  their  enthusiasm  for  the  journey,  and  they 
made  but  indifferent  progress.  They  were  presently 
compelled  to  stop  a  good  hour  and  a  half  to  let  them 
rest  and  feed. 

Garth,  though  he  strove  to  hide  it,  was  now  very 
anxious.  They  had  laid  in  only  two  weeks'  provisions 
at  the  Landing;  the  trails  seemed  to  be  narrowing 
both  before  and  behind;  and  the  North  closing  in. 
Moreover,  he  suspected  Nick  Grylls  was  not  the  man 
to  stoop  to  mere  mischief-making;  and  he  wondered 
apprehensively  what  next  move  he  contemplated. 
Looking  at  his  charming  Natalie,  he  could  conceive 
of  a  man  stooping  to  any  villainy  to  possess  her.  How- 
ever, he  strove  to  keep  her  spirits  up  —  and  his  own  - 
with  the  oft-expressed  belief  that  the  Bishop  would 
not  leave  Pierre  Toma's  until  the  next  morning. 

Six  o'clock  had  passed  before  they  turned  into  the 
rough  little  clearing  on  the  river  bank.  The  horses 


MARY'S    ERRAND  99 

were  done  up.  They  had  passed  no  other  sign  of 
habitation  the  whole  way. 

A  bent  old  man  with  a  snowy  thatch  came  hobbling 
out  of  the  cabin. 

His  look  of  surprise,  and  the  quietness  of  the  place, 
answered  Garth's  question  before  he  put  it. 

"Where  is  the  Bishop?" 

The  old  man  spread  out  his  hands.  "Gone.  Four 
hours,"  he  said. 


VIII 

ON  THE  LITTLE  RIVER 

THE  next  day  found  Garth  and  Natalie  afloat 
on  Musquasepi,  headed   alone  into  the  North. 
To  be  exact,  only  Natalie  was  afloat;    she  sat 
in  the  stern  of  a  tiny  boat,  keeping  her  off  shore  with 
a  paddle  devised  from  the  cover  of  a  grub-box.     Their 
outfit  was  piled  amidships.     Garth  harnessed    to   the 
end  of  a  towing-line,  plodded  through  the  mud  and 
over  the  stones  of  the  bank;  climbing  over  fallen  trees, 
and  wading  bodily  into  the  river,  when  necessary  to 
drag  his  tow  around  a  reef. 

Indecision  had  attacked  Garth  the  night  before  - 
his  responsibility  was  so  great!     But  Natalie  had  said, 
pressing  the  soft  curve  out  of  her  lips: 

"Any  means  to  get  ahead!  If  we  have  to  crawl 
on  hands  and  knees!" 

"Any  safe  means,"  Garth  amended. 

"Nick  Grylls  without  doubt  is  counting  on  our 
being  held  up  or  driven  back,"  she  said.  "I  have 
an  idea  he  is  not  far  behind  us." 

It  was  Garth's  own  idea. 

"So  we  must  keep  ahead!" 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER  101 

"We  must  do  whatever  will  best  ensure  your  safety," 
Garth  said  doggedly. 

That  bright  red  spot  had  appeared  in  either  of 
Natalie's  cheeks.  "Bother  my  safety!"  she  cried. 
"You  will  not  allow  me  a  shred  of  pluck!  My  honour 
is  engaged  on  this  journey,  just  the  same  as  if  I  were 
a  man!  I  said  I'd  do  it;  and  I  will!  And  if  I  hear 
another  word  about  my  comfort  or  my  safety,  upon 
my  word,  I'll  go  on  alone!" 

Garth  had  smiled  at  the  threat,  and  given  in;  because 
on  the  whole  it  seemed  safer  to  press  ahead,  than  to 
attempt  to  return.  Secretly,  he  was  delighted  with 
the  spirit  she  showed. 

They  had  bought  the  boat  from  Pierre  Toma,  a 
breed  of  the  more  self-respecting  elder  generation,  in 
whose  aged  eyes  still  twinkled  the  spirit  of  the  voy- 
ageurs.  Pake's  magnanimous  offer  of  the  wagon  and 
team  at  only  twice  their  real  value  was  declined;  inas- 
much as  the  trail  was  impassible  for  wagons  beyond 
Toma's  place,  and  ceased  altogether  at  Caribou  Lake. 
They  counted  on  the  boat  to  carry  them  as  far  as  the 
lake;  there,  Pierre  Toma  had  assured  them,  they 
might  very  likely  overtake  the  Bishop,  if  he  were  delayed 
by  contrary  winds,  or  christenings.  In  any  case  Wall- 
eye Macgregor,  said  Pierre,  had  a  strong  boat  at  the 
lake  that  could  take  them  the  eighty  miles  across. 
According  to  the  haphazard  measurements  of  the 
breeds,  Caribou  Lake  was  twenty-five  miles  from 
Pierre  Toma's. 


102  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

Their  own  boat  was  but  crazily  hung  together. 
Natalie  had  christened  it  the  Flat-iron  from  its  shape. 
It  was  of  extremely  simple  construction —  two  planks 
laid  V-shape,  with  a  shorter  plank  to  close  the  end, 
and  boards  nailed  on  for  a  bottom.  Pierre  Toma 
had  said  with  pride,  there  was  no  other  boat  in  the 
country  like  it;  and  after  using  it  a  day  they  were  pre- 
pared to  agree.  It  was  designed  to  be  propelled  with 
a  pole;  and  they  had  started  in  that  manner;  but  the 
Flat-iron  showed  a  perverse  disposition  to  travel  in 
any  direction  save  the  desired  one;  and  her  favourite 
manoeuvre  under  the  impetus  of  the  pole  was  to  swing 
on  her  centre  without  moving  ahead  at  all.  So  Garth, 
after  some  study,  had  constructed  the  tracking  appa- 
ratus. 

It  was  a  simple,  park-like,  little  river  with  brown, 
foam-flecked  water  flowing  moderately  through  a 
country  of  small  timber;  and  occasionally  there  were 
natural  meadows  starred  with  flowers,  where  children 
in  their  white  dresses  should  have  been  picnicking,  so 
intimate  and  peaceful  it  seemed.  None  the  less,  it  was 
the  strange  and  lonely  North  into  which  they  were 
thrust,  on  their  own  unaided  resources  —  like  the  babes 
in  the  woods,  Natalie  said.  They  were  abruptly 
cast  back  on  the  great  and  simple  verities  of  existence, 
where  a  man,  be  his  wits  never  so  sharp,  must  be  strong, 
to  survive.  Natalie  looked  at  Garth's  broad  back, 
as  he  slowly  put  the  miles  behind  him  one  after  another; 
and  considering  the  impatient  vigour,  with  which  he 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER  103 

attacked  the  multitude  of  obstacles  strewn  along  the 
river,  thanked  God  for  sending  such  a  one  to  her  aid. 

The  wonder  of  the  unknown  was  in  them  both; 
and  their  breasts  throbbed  a  little,  as  they  looked  to 
see  what  each  bend  in  the  stream  would  have  to  show. 
Only  once  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  was  there  any 
reminder  of  human  life;  a  breed  boy  suddenly  appeared 
on  the  bank,  only  to  duck  behind  a  bush  like  a  little 
animal,  at  the  startling  sight  of  white  strangers  on  the 
river.  Tempted  forth  at  last,  in  response  to  Garth's 
question,  he  said  they  were  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
lake.  Garth,  who  had  been  doing  his  best  for  seven 
hours  to  reduce  that  distance,  felt  distinctly  aggrieved. 

Natalie  insisted  on  camping  early;  for  it  had  been 
a  gruelling  afternoon  on  Garth.  They  chose  a  little 
promontory  running  into  the  water;  and  once  he  had 
started  a  fire,  and  put  up  her  tent,  she  made  him  lie 
at  length  in  the  grass,  where  he  stretched  his  limbs 
in  delicious  weariness,  and  watched  her  settling  the 
camp  for  the  night  and  cooking  the  supper.  She  was 
proud  in  the  acquisition  of  a  new  accomplishment, 
that  of  baking  bannock  before  a  fire  in  the  open,  learned 
that  morning  from  Mrs.  Toma.  The  sight  of  her, 
bustling  and  cheerful,  working  for  him,  had  a  strange 
and  painful  pleasure  for  him.  They  two,  alone 
together  in  the  wilderness,  cut  off  from  all  their  kind !  — 
the  thought  squeezed  his  heartstrings;  she  was  so  much 
his  own  there  —  and  so  little! 

With   the   sinking   of  the   sun,   the   awful   stillness 


104  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

came  stealing  to  envelope  them;  and  with  insistent 
fingers  seemed  to  press  upon  the  very  drums  of  their 
ears.  The  little  river  flowed  as  stilly  and  darkly  as  the 
water  of  Lethe  at  their  feet;  and  the  gaunt  pines  over 
the  way  stood  transfixed  like  souls  that  had  drunk  of  it. 
Under  the  spell  of  the  silence  they  instinctively  lowered 
their  voices;  and  they  broke  sticks  for  the  fire  with 
reluctance;  so  painful  was  the  crash  and  reverberation 
up  and  down.  But  there  is  always  one  sound  that 
accompanies  this  stillness;  hardly  breaks  it,  so  smoothly 
it  comes  stealing  on  the  suspended  evening  air  —  the 
quavering  howl  of  the  coyote.  They  heard  it  throb 
miles  off;  and  it  was  answered  from  immeasurable 
distances  side  to  side.  Little  by  little,  attracted  by  the 
smell  of  cooking  food,  the  animals  drew  closer,  and 
at  last  stationed  themselves  in  a  kind  of  wide-drawn 
circle  about  their  camp  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  wail- 
ing back  and  forth  like  souls  inconceivably  tormented. 
Natalie  shuddered. 

"They  are  cowardly  beasts,"  Garth  said  reassuringly. 
"They  won't  come  any  closer." 

They  spoke  but  little  to  each  other.  Night,  solitude 
and  that  spirit  of  woe  abroad,  filled  them  with  a  mighty 
longing  for  each  other's  arms.  At  last  she  crept  away 
to  her  tent. 

As  the  darkness  deepened;  and  the  clear-eyed 
Northern  constellations  looked  out,  one  by  one,  there 
were  other  sounds;  a  peevish  growling  and  whining 
at  the  top  of  the  bank  above  them;  a  frantic  scurry 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER          105 

when  Garth  heaved  a  stone.  The  better  to  ensure 
Natalie's  peace  of  mind,  he  weighted  the  tent  all 
around  with  rocks;  and  heaped  wood  on  the  fire. 

Natalie  stuck  her  head  out  of  her  cosy  refuge.  "  I 
can't  bear  to  have  you  sleeping  unprotected  outside," 
she  said  anxiously. 

Garth's  heart  paused  breathlessly  at  the  thought 
of  the  alternative.  He  sprang  up  and  thrust  the 
thought  aside.  "Nonsense!  I'll  be  all  right!"  he 
cried.  "To  please  you  I'll  keep  the  fire  going  all 
night." 

Later,  he  rolled  himself  in  his  blankets  across  the 
door  of  her  tent,  as  before;  and  lay  there  smoking, 
gazing  at  the  fire,  picturing  Natalie  asleep  within; 
and  assuaging  his  hungry  heart  as  best  he  might  with 
the  sound  of  her  child-like  breathing. 

The  day  broke  gloriously;  and  shortly  after  sun- 
rise they  were  on  their  way  again,  under  a  sky  as  ten- 
derly blue  as  palest  turquoise,  over  which  were  flung 
bright,  silken,  cloudy  scarves.  As  they  ascended,  the 
character  of  the  river  changed;  the  trees  disappeared, 
giving  place  to  wide,  flat  meadows  of  blue  grass  as  high 
as  a  man's  waist;  the  current  slackened,  and  its  course 
became  more  circuitous.  Along  the  shores,  steep  cut- 
banks  alternated  with  muddy  shoals;  and  a  new  set  of 
problems  faced  Garth. 

These  chiefly  took  the  form  of  stout  willow  bushes 
overhanging  the  cut-banks  —  diabolically  malicious, 
sentient  beings,  they  became  to  Garth.  He  tried 


106  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

crawling  underneath  with  his  tow-line,  whereupon 
the  earth  gave  way,  precipitating  him  in  water  up  to 
his  middle;  he  tried  crashing  bodily  through,  and  the 
line  would  invariably  knot  itself  around  the  most 
inaccessible  twig.  The  Flat-iron,  too,  seemed  to 
rejoice  in  his  discomfiture;  and  at  every  interrup- 
tion of  her  progress  took  the  occasion,  in  spite  of  Nata- 
lie's paddle,  to  turn  about  and  stick  her  nose  stupidly 
into  the  mud  of  the  bank.  Every  bush  in  turn  offered 
a  different  and  more  complicated  obstacle  than  the 
last;  in  three  hours  they  made  perhaps  twice  three 
hundred  yards.  Natalie,  alarmed  by  the  spectacle 
of  Garth's  set  lips,  and  the  swollen  veins  of  his  tem- 
ples, besought  him  for  goodness'  sake  to  swear  and 
not  mind  her. 

He  finally  decided  to  change  his  mode  of  going; 
and  contriving  a  second  little  paddle,  he  embarked 
with  Natalie.  They  progressed  but  slowly  against  the 
current;  for  the  short  paddles  had  about  the  same 
effectiveness  as  two  of  those  little  instruments  for  mak- 
ing butter  pats,  which  they  strongly  resembled.  Garth 
figured  they  would  be  making  a  mile  an  hour  —  but 
this  way  was  easier  on  his  temper. 

To-day,  the  little  river,  placidly  flowing  between 
its  grassy  banks,  had  an  oddly  pastoral  look.  With 
the  familiar  shapes  of  the  overhanging  willows,  and  the 
brilliant  marsh  marigolds  on  the  shallows,  all  drenched 
in  the  opulent  sunshine,  they  found  themselves  looking 
for  cows  on  the  bank;  and  it  seemed  incredible  that 


107 

no  church  spire  rose  above  any  of  the  distant  clumps  of 
trees.  They  could  not  rid  themselves  of  the  feeling 
that  this  was  no  more  than  a  day's  picnic,  with  a  house 
awaiting  them  just  ahead,  and  company  and  good  cheer. 
But  instead  of  that,  silently  rounding  a  bend,  they  were 
unexpectedly  introduced  to  the  true  genius  of  the 
country.  In  the  mud  of  one  of  the  flats  at  the  edge  of 
the  water,  sat  a  large  brown  bear  on  his  haunches, 
soberly  licking  his  paws.  He  was  no  more  than  twenty 
feet  from  them  —  a  room's  length.  At  Natalie's  slight 
gasp  of  astonishment,  he  turned  his  head;  and  stared 
at  them  agape,  with  hanging  paws,  like  a  great  baby. 
He  looked  so  homely  and  comical  Natalie  burst  out 
laughing.  At  the  sound,  Bruin  promptly  fell  to  all 
fours;  and  with  a  great  "woof!"  of  astonishment  and 
indignation,  bundled  over  the  bank  out  of  sight. 

To-day,  the  delicate,  heady  air  of  the  Northern 
summer  inspired  their  veins  like  wine.  As  Olympians, 
they  lunched  on  the  greensward  carpeting  the  bank  of 
a  little  inlet;  while  their  shallop  floated  among  tiny 
white  lilies  at  their  feet.  All  afternoon  their  spirits 
soared  into  the  realms  of  incoherent  enthusiasm;  they 
filled  the  air  with  their  full-throated  laughter  and  foolish, 
glancing  speech.  Garth's  old  friends  would  have 
been  astonished  then  to  see  how  he  could  "let  himself 
go";  but  no  one  in  the  world  ever  really  saw  that 
besides  Natalie. 

They  loved;  their  happy  eyes  confessed  it  freely, 
though  their  tongues  were  tied.  Nothing  needed  to  be 


108  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

explained,  for  they  were  perfectly  attuned  to  each 
other;  and  everything  was  clear  in  an  exchange  of  eyes. 
The  tough  old  world,  with  all  its  tiresome,  grimy  busi- 
nesses was  thrust  out  of  sight  and  out  of  mind,  and  they 
seemed  to  tread  a  brand-new  sphere,  created  as  they 
would  have  it,  empty  of  all  save  their  two  selfish  selves. 
On  such  a  day,  in  such  surroundings,  crosses,  hin- 
drances, dangers,  what  were  they  ?  Life  was  a  great 
joke:  Nick  Grylls  and  his  minions  were  blithely  whistled 
down  the  wind.  Ascending  between  the  flowery  banks 
of  the  little  river,  their  river,  nothing  mattered  so  they 
were  not  parted.  In  the  more  or  less  tarnished  circlet 
of  life  it  was  their  perfect  golden  day;  and  whenever 
afterward  either  remembered  it,  it  was  as  if  a  delicate 
fragrance  arose  in  his  soul.  All  day  they  saw  no  sign 
of  human  habitation. 

As  long  as  the  sun  shone  they  maintained  their  light- 
hearted  gaiety,  neither  remembering  nor  desiring  any- 
thing more 

"I  say,  Nat!"  it  would  be,  "toss  me  over  the  hatchet 
like  a  good  chap.  Hey,  there !  not  at  my  head !" 

"What's  for  supper,  Nat  ?     I'm  hungry  as  an  ogre!" 
"Bacon  aux  tomates  a  la  Bland  and  bannock  Mus- 
quasepi  avec  ashes!" 

"Bully!  If  you  taste  it  so  much  there  won't  be  any 
left  to  go  on  the  table!" 

"Where's  the  bag  of  hard-tack,  Garth  ?" 
"Grub-box  number  two;  port  side  by  the  rail." 
"Idiot!    You  put  them  on  the  bottom  of  the  box! 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER  109 

The  water's  leaked  through,  and  they're  all  mush 
underneath !" 

"What's  the  diff?  Stick  the  soft  ones  in  the  lob- 
scouse!" 

But  after  supper,  when  the  sun  had  gone  down, 
and  the  great  stillness  crept  over  them  again,  Natalie's 
arms  dropped  at  her  sides,  Garth's  pipe  went  out,  and 
an  unaccountable  sadness  fell  on  both.  Then,  their 
sporadic  attempts  to  keep  up  the  old,  friendly  rattle 
rang  so  false  that  both  fell  silent.  Their  camp  of  itself 
had  a  gloomy  aspect.  It  was  pitched  in  an  elbow  of 
the  river,  where  a  section  of  the  cut-bank  had  sunk 
down,  making  a  little  terrace  of  grass  a  few  feet  above 
the  water.  Above,  there  had  been  a  small  grove  of 
trees,  through  which  a  fire  had  some  time  swept,  leaving 
only  a  few  slender,  charred  trunks  pointing  askew 
against  the  slow,  dusky  crimson  of  the  west.  On  the 
nearest  and  tallest  of  these  wrecked  monuments,  imme- 
diately above  their  camp,  as  on  a  slender  pedestal,  sat 
a  great  owl,  the  only  visible  living  thing  in  all  the  wide 
expanse,  besides  themselves.  As  long  as  there  was 
light  enough  to  see  him,  he  crouched  there,  motionless. 

Natalie  sat  huddled  on  a  box,  with  Garth's  coat 
thrown  about  her  shoulders.  Her  chin  was  in  her  palm, 
and  her  lashes  veiled  rebellious,  miserable  eyes.  There 
are  moments  when  the  most  aerial  spirits  sink  to  earth; 
and  just  now  Natalie  could  make  no  pretense  at  a 
flight.  It  was  clear  he  loved  her,  as  she  loved  him; 
what  then  were  a  few  words  five  years  old,  to  keep  them 


110  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

apart  ?  She  tried  honestly  to  arm  her  breast  by  think- 
ing of  the  laws  that  separated  them;  but  the  insidious 
part  of  it  was,  they  were  worldly  laws;  and  here  the 
world  was  thrust  out  of  sight.  Why  did  he  not  take 
her  in  his  arms,  and  let  her  heavy  head  fall  on  his 
shoulder?  her  heart  reiterated;  and  that  was  the  only 
voice  she  could  hear  then.  Yet  if  Garth  had  betrayed 
any  weakness  on  his  part,  Natalie  would  have  been  on 
the  qui  vive  to  repel  him.  The  forces  of  her  soul  were 
thrown  in  a  sad  confusion;  while  her  woman's  instinct 
raged  against  him,  that  he  could  resist  her,  she  loved 
him  tenfold  more  for  that  very  resistance. 

And  Garth  —  seeing  her  sitting  there  so  small  under 
his  coat,  and  all  relaxed  and  appealing,  her  mouth  like 
an  unhappy  child's,  and  her  eyes  big  with  unshed  tears 
—  his  arms  ached  to  enfold  her;  his  brain  reeled  with 
the  intensity  of  his  desire  to  take  her  as  she  trembled 
to  be  taken.  But  her  helplessness,  which  tortured  him, 
nerved  him  to  endure  the  torture.  In  the  turmoil  of 
his  blood  he  could  not  think  coherently;  but  he  could 
repeat  to  himself,  dully,  over  and  over:  "I  must  take 
care  of  her!  I  must  take  care  of  her!"  He  busied 
himself  with  small  unnecessary  tasks;  splicing  the 
tracking  line,  chopping  tent-pegs,  cleaning  the  frying 
pan  with  sand. 

Natalie  disappeared  within  her  tent  —  and  cried  her- 
self to  sleep.  Garth,  lying  outside  the  door,  though 
she  attempted  to  smother  the  sound  in  her  pillow, 
heard;  and  it  was  like  little  knives  hacking  in  his 


ON    THE     LITTLE    RIVER  111 

breast.  Sleep  for  him  was  out  of  the  question;  he 
was  denied  the  relief  of  tears.  He  rose,  when  Natalie's 
quiet  breathing  told  him  she  was  asleep  at  last,  and 
undressing,  waded  into  the  river,  and  swam  back 
and  forth  until  the  cold  water  chilled  him  through. 
Brisk,  silent  exercise  restored  his  circulation,  and  a 
pipe  and  communion  with  the  stars  quieted  his  nerves. 
In  the  end  he  toppled  over  all  standing,  and  slept  on  the 
grass  until  daylight. 

Natalie  reappeared  with  the  sun,  brave  and  rosy 
again,  and  with  little  sign  of  the  night's  tumult,  save 
in  an  added  sense  of  gratitude  toward  Garth,  which 
appeared  in  the  pleasure  she  took  in  doing  little  things 
for  him.  His  grayish  pallor,  and  kind,  tired  eyes 
rebuked  her  sorely  for  having  cast  the  whole  burden 
on  him.  She  vowed  to  herself  it  should  not  occur 
again. 

To-day  the  character  of  the  river  changed  little; 
only  that  the  bends  multiplied  and  sharpened;  and 
where  they  were  horseshoe  curves  yesterday,  to-day 
they  were  hair-pin  curves.  Sometimes,  just  over  the 
bank,  they  would  catch  sight  again  of  a  particularly 
marked  tree  they  had  passed  a  whole  laborious  hour 
before.  Endless  and  futile  were  the  calculations  they 
made  as  to  how  far  they  had  gone,  and  had  yet  to  go. 

They  cut  across  from  point  to  point,  keeping  under 
the  bank  out  of  the  strength  of  the  current  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  rounding  the  inside  of  each  bend.  In  this 


112  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

manner  they  were  ascending  close  under  a  willow  bush, 
when  suddenly  and  silently  a  huge,  brown  wing,  like 
the  wing  of  Sinbad's  auk,  sailed  athwart  the  sky. 
They  caught  their  breaths  in  astonishment.  A  great 
gray  galley  swept  around  the  bend,  no  more  than  two 
oars'  length  from  them.  With  her  swarthy  crew  stand- 
ing about  the  deck,  their  brows  bound  with  bright  silk 
handkerchiefs,  and  at  the  tiller,  a  great,  bearded  figure, 
she  was  the  very  picture  of  a  pirate  craft.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  state  which  crew  was  the  more  sur- 
prised at  the  unexpected  encounter;  the  seeming  pirates 
likewise  stared  open-mouthed  at  the  Flat-iron.  Just 
as  the  galley  was  disappearing,  Garth  collected  pres- 
ence of  mind  sufficient  to  hail,  and  inquire  the  dis- 
tance to  the  lake. 

The  answer  came  back:  "Twenty-five  miles!" 
They  began  to  think  there  was  witchcraft  in  it. 
The  wind  had  changed;  and  puffy,  white  clouds 
came  rolling  up  from  the  west,  passing  beneath  the 
serene  and  silky  streamers  of  the  upper  air.  Gradu- 
ally the  invaders  thickened  and  spread  over  the  field; 
their  underbodies  took  on  a  grayish  tint;  and  the 
blue  openings  narrowed.  Finally  a  sharp  shower 
descended;  and  the  voyageurs  sought  shelter  under 
a  bush,  where  they  hung,  watching  the  millions  of 
drops  plopping  roundly  into  the  surface  of  the  river; 
each  drop  with  its  attendant  sprite  leaping  at  its 
approach.  One  shower  followed  another,  with  inter- 
vals of  hot  and  sticky  sunshine  between.  It  was  more 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER  113 

uncomfortable  under  the  steamy,  dripping  bushes 
than  in  the  thick  of  it;  and  they  finally  decided  to 
paddle  ahead,  let  it  rain  as  it  would.  Luncheon, 
consisting  of  soaked  bannock  and  cold  cocoa,  was  a 
sorry  affair. 

Garth  was  glum.  He  had  long  apprehended  that 
bad  weather  would  treble  their  difficulties.  "How 
can  I  keep  her  warm  and  dry  throughout  the  night?" 
was  his  ever-present  thought.  Natalie,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  as  happy  as  a  lark;  and  she  made  a  very 
attractive  picture  in  the  rain.  Her  dress  had  altered 
little  by  little  during  the  last  few  days;  and  now  com- 
prised a  blue  sweater,  short  skirt  and  moccasins.  The 
hat  with  the  green  wings  was  safely  wrapped  in  the 
duffle-bag;  and  hitherto  she  had  gone  bareheaded 
on  the  river.  When  it  began  to  rain  she  pulled  a  man's 
cap  close  over  her  head  to  keep  her  hair  dry.  As  she 
industriously  plied  her  paddle  in  the  bow,  ever  and 
anon  turning  a  rosy,  streaming  face  to  him,  with  a 
joke  on  her  lips,  in  her  rough  get-up  poor  Garth  thought 
her  lovelier  than  ever.  He  was  continually  having 
to  call  himself  down,  as  he  would  have  said,  for  pre- 
suming to  think  he  had  measured  the  extent  of  her 
charm. 

"Isn't  it  bully,  Garth!"  once  she  cried.  "Ever 
since  I  was  a  baby  I  have  longed  to  be  allowed  to  play 
in  the  rain  for  just  once,  and  get  as  wet  as  I  possibly 
could  —  just  to  see  how  it  felt!  And  now  I  shall! 
Isn't  it  funny  just  to  sit  and  let  it  come  down,  without 


114 

running  anywhere  ?  Women  are  babies,  anyway.  I 
mean  never  to  put  up  an  umbrella  again  as  long  as 
I  live.  The  rain  feels  good  in  my  face!" 

Nevertheless,  Garth,  occupied  as  he  was  with  the 
problems  of  how  to  find  a  dry  place  to  put  up  the  tent, 
and  how  to  build  a  fire  in  a  downpour,  was  anxious. 
Little  by  little  the  showers  merged  into  each  other; 
and  before  the  end  of  the  afternoon,  it  had  settled 
down  to  rain  steadily  all  night. 

He  learned  in  the  end  never  to  trust  the  distances 
given  in  an  unmeasured  land.  Rounding  one  of  the 
endless  bends  toward  five  o'clock,  they  became  aware 
of  a  new,  indefinable,  fresher  smell  on  the  air;  and 
they  increased  their  pace  with  an  eager  sense  of  a 
discovery  awaiting  them  in  the  next  vista.  The  next 
point  proved  to  be  the  last;  looking  around  it,  the 
wind  buffeted  their  faces  fresh  and  cool;  the  river 
stretched  away  for  half  a  mile,  straight  as  a  canal 
and  there,  away  beyond,  leapt  the  waves  of  Caribou 
Lake  on  the  bar. 

Natalie  cheered.  "Hooray  for  the  crew  of  the 
Flat-iron!"  she  cried.  "We've  actually  done  it!" 
She  reached  back.  "Shake,  partner!" 

Near  the  head  of  the  river,  in  the  wild  waste  of  sand 
on  the  lake  shore,  squatted  a  weather-beaten  little 
log  cabin,  almost  eave-deep  behind  the  dunes.  Smoke 
arose  from  the  chimney. 

"Good!"  cried  Garth  in  high  satisfaction.  "You 
can  dry  your  clothes  here,  anyway." 


ON    THE    LITTLE    RIVER  115 

A  glance  up  and  down  the  shore  of  the  river  revealed 
no  trace  of  the  canoes  or  the  outfit  of  the  expedition 
they  were  in  pursuit  of. 

"We've  missed  him  again,"  said  Garth  grimly. 

They  landed,  dripping  and  stiff;  and  plodded 
through  the  sand  to  the  tiny  door.  The  outlook  was 
desolate  in  the  extreme;  there  was  no  sign  of  life 
anywhere,  save  only  the  wisp  of  smoke  from  the  chim- 
ney. At  their  left  hand,  the  lake  spread  bleakly  to 
the  horizon,  torn  and  white  under  the  west  wind, 
and  with  great  billows  tumbling  on  the  beach. 

"  The  Flat-iron  could  never  negotiate  that,"  remarked 
Garth. 

He  knocked  on  the  little  door. 

"Come  in!"   rang  instantly  from  within. 

They  looked  at  each  other  in  astonishment. 

"An  English  voice!"   she  whispered. 

"A  white  man!     Thank  God!"  said  he. 


IX 

THE  HEART  OF  A  BOY 

IT  WAS  a  youth  who  presently  faced  them  on  the 
threshold  of  the  hut;  an  apple-cheeked  boy  of 
seventeen,  who  bared  two  rows  of  shining 
white  teeth;  and  whose  blue  eyes,  at  the  sight  of  them, 
sparkled  with  the  purest  enthusiasm  of  welcome. 

"Come  right  in,  and  dry  out!"  he  cried.  "I  cer- 
tainly am  glad  to  see  you!"  The  haunting  reed  of 
boyhood  still  vibrated  faintly  in  the  manlier  notes  of 
his  voice. 

Here  was  a  greeting  from  a  stranger  to  warm  the 
hearts  of  the  wet  and  weary  wayfarers !  It  presented 
the  North  in  a  new  aspect.  Natalie  in  especial,  beamed 
on  their  young  host;  he  was  wholly  a  boy  after  her  own 
heart. 

Looking  at  Natalie  more  particularly,  the  boy 
blushed  and  faltered  a  little.  "It  isn't  much  of  a 
place  to  receive  a  lady  in,"  he  said  apologetically.  "  I 
haven't  been  on  my  own  long  enough  to  get  anything 
much  together." 

It  was  a  characteristically  boyish  abode.  The 
furniture  was  limited  to  the  cook-stove  in  the  centre 

116 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  117 

of  the  room;  and  a  home-made  table  and  a  bench. 
His  bed  was  spread  on  straw  in  one  corner;  and  another 
corner  was  given  up  to  the  heterogeneous  assortment 
of  his  belongings  and  his  grub.  Apparently  the  cabin 
had  long  served  as  a  casual  storehouse  to  the  boatmen 
of  the  river;  for  pieces  of  mouldy  sails  were  hung  over 
the  rafters;  oars  and  a  mast  crossed  from  beam  to  beam; 
and  in  a  third  corner  were  a  pile  of  chain  and  an  anchor, 
slowly  mouldering  into  rust.  In  wet  weather,  the 
present  tenant  evidently  did  his  chopping  within  doors, 
the  floor  was  littered  with  chips  and  broken  wood.  As 
they  came  in,  a  yellow  and  white  kitten,  retreating  to 
the  darkest  corner  of  the  cabin,  elevated  his  back 
and  growled  threateningly. 

"That's  my  partner,  Musq'oosis,"  explained  the 
boy.  "He'll  make  friends  directly.  He  plays  with 
me  by  the  hour;  you'd  laugh  yourself  sick  to  see  the 
comical  way  he  carries  on.  He's  great  company  when 
you're  batching  alone!" 

Natalie  liked  this  boy  more  and  more. 

"Say,  I'm  having  no  end  of  company  these  days," 
he  went  on,  with  his  happy-go-lucky  air.  "The 
Bishop's  outfit  was  here  all  day  yesterday;  they  went 
up  on  the  last  of  the  east  wind,  this  morning.  The 
old  woman  —  that's  what  we  call  Mrs.  Bishop,  you 
know;  no  disrespect  —  she  baked  me  a  batch  of  her 
bread  before  she  went.  Real  outside  bread  with  a 
crackly  crust  to  it!  Oh  my!  Oh  my!  —  with  brown 
sugar!  Say,  we'll  have  a  loaf  of  it  for  supper!" 


118  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Natalie  in  the  meantime  sat  on  the  bench;  and 
taking  off  her  moccasins,  put  her  feet  on  the  oven  sill 
to  dry.  Garth  sat  on  a  box;  and  their  host  squatted  on 
the  floor  between. 

"By  the  way,"  said  this  youth;  "I'm  Charley 
Landrum." 

Garth  introduced  himself  and  Natalie. 

"Hope  you'll  stay  a  couple  of  days,"  said  Charley 
anxiously-  "or longer.  There's  great  duck-shooting 
on  the  sloughs;  and  we  might  get  a  goose  or  a  wavy 
around  the  lake  shore.  It  would  be  a  pleasant  change 
of  meat  for  the  lady." 

Charley  addressed  all  his  remarks  to  Garth,  without 
ever  once  looking  at  Natalie;  it  was  clear,  nevertheless, 
that  he  was  acutely  conscious  of  her  presence;  for  he 
blushed  whenever  she  spoke;  and  his  eyes  were  con- 
tinually drawn  to  her,  though  he  dared  not  raise  them 
quite  to  her  face.  To  Garth  and  Natalie  the  nicest 
thing  about  this  boy  was  the  way  he  took  her  presence 
for  granted.  Of  all  the  males  they  had  met  in  the 
North,  he  alone  had  not  gaped  at  her  in  vulgar  wonder; 
and  to  his  honest  heart  there  was  nothing  out-of-the- 
way  in  the  fact  that  she  was  Miss  Bland,  and  Garth 
Mr.  Pevensey. 

"We're  obliged  to  get  on  as  soon  as  we  can,"  said 
Garth.  "We've  been  chasing  the  Bishop  all  the  way 
from  the  Landing." 

"How  did  you  come  up  the  little  river?"  asked 
Charley. 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  119 

"I  bought  a  boat  from  Pierre  Toma." 

"I  know  her,"  he  said  with  a  chuckle;  "cranky 
as  a  bath-tub!  You  couldn't  go  up  the  lake  in  her!" 

"Not  while  it  blows  like  this,"  said  Garth. 

"Then  I  hope  it  hits  it  up  for  a  week!"  said  Charley, 
apparently  addressing  the  hem  of  Natalie's  skirt. 

"I  was  told  one  Wall-eye  Macgregor  had  a  strong 
boat,"  Garth  said. 

"Nothing  doing!"  returned  the  boy.  "He's  got 
it  up  at  the  head  of  the  lake." 

"Then  I  must  try  to  strengthen  the  bath-tub  and 
coast  around  the  shore,"  said  Garth. 

"I'll  help  you!"  said  Charley.  "We'll  pitch  in 
first  thing  to-morrow." 

"How  long  have  you  been  in  the  country,  Mr. 
Landrum?"  asked  Natalie  softly. 

The  boy  blushed  for  pure  pleasure;  and  his  voice 
deepened  as  he  replied:  "Two  years  next  March, 
Miss.  I  came  in  over  the  ice  with  a  freighter.  I  ran 
away  from  school.  What  was  the  use  ?  —  I  got  a  head 
like  a  hickory  nut;  and  I  couldn't  keep  out  of  trouble. 
They  gave  me  a  bad  name;  and  everything  that  hap- 
pened was  put  on  me.  So  I  cleared  out  and  came 
North. 

Gradually  the  whole  naive,  boyish  tale  came  out. 

"I  had  a  lot  of  fool  ideas  about  the  country  then; 
but  they  were  soon  knocked  out  of  me.  All  the  kids 
that  run  away  soon  come  sneaking  home  and  have 
to  eat  their  brags;  and  I  wasn't  going  to  do  that.  So 


120  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

I  stuck  it  out.  At  first  I  admit  I  pretty  near  caved  in 
with  homesickness;  but  I'm  hardened  now.  The 
first  year  I  worked  for  a  trader  up  at  Ostachegan 
creek;  and  this  spring  I  bought  this  cabin  on  credit. 
Frank  Sheffbrd  up  at  Nine-Mile-Point  is  going  to  lend 
me  his  team  and  mower  when  his  hay  is  put  up;  and 
I'll  put  up  hay  myself." 

The  boy's  eyes  glowed,  as  he  announced  his  brave 
plans  for  the  future. 

"Next  winter  I'm  going  to  keep  a  stopping-house 
for  freighters.  I've  got  a  good  location  here,  and 
stable  room  already  for  eight  teams.  I'll  build  to  it 
later.  There's  money  in  that;  and  it's  a  pleasant  life 
for  a  man  —  plenty  of  company.  And  when  I  get 
a  little  money  ahead,  I'll  trade;  there's  good  chances 
for  a  free  trader  that  knows  the  ropes;  and  in  a  few 
years  I'll  branch  out  and  have  a  whole  string  of  trading 
posts,  like  Nick  Grylls.  There's  a  smart  one!  They 
say  he  could  sell  out  for  a  hundred  thousand  any  day!'* 

Garth  was  reminded  of  his  own  hopeful,  spouting 
youth. 

"  I  hope  you  won't  be  like  Nick  Grylls,"  said  Natalie 
gently. 

"Don't  you  like  him?"  asked  Charley  in  concern. 
"I  always  thought  he  was  a  pretty  smart  one.  No!" 
he  added  suddenly.  "I  don't  like  him  either.  He's 


coarse ! 


f" 


Supper  was  an  affair  of  joint  contributions;  Garth's 
jam  for  Charley's  bread.     In  the  meantime  Charley 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  121 

had  surreptitiously  swept  up  the  chips;  and  had  then 
slipped  away  to  the  river  bank,  for  a  wash  and  a  tidy-up. 
He  reappeared  with  his  hair  well  "slicked,"  his  tip- 
tilted  nose  as  pink  as  his  shiny  cheeks,  and  a  smile 
that  extended  to  the  furthest  confines  of  his  face. 
But  he  was  distressed  that  he  had  no  white  collar  to 
honour  the  board;  and  his  gratitude  was  silent  and 
boundless,  when  Garth  produced  one  for  him  from 
his  duffle-bag. 

It  was  a  jovial  meal  that  followed;  the  spirit  of  youth 
presided;  and  wisdom  and  grave  speech  were  thrust 
under  the  table.  Charley  recovered  of  his  bashfulness 
so  far  that  he  could  occasionally  nerve  himself  to  look 
at  Natalie.  For  all  the  boy's  giddy  jollity,  his  blue 
eyes  had  a  kind  of  stricken  look  when  they  rested  on 
her  face.  But  his  appetite  did  not  suffer  appreciably; 
and  it  did  Garth's  and  Natalie's  hearts  good  to  see  the 
bread  and  jam  disappear  between  Charley's  business- 
like jaws.  Jam,  they  agreed,  had  surely  never  before 
been  so  successful  in  tickling  the  human  palate.  "Just 
do  without  it  for  a  couple  of  years  and  see  for  yourself," 
Charley  rejoined. 

Afterward  the  cabin  was  further  swept  and  garnished 
for  Natalie's  use;  and  a  heap  of  fragrant  hay  brought 
from  the  stable  on  which  to  spread  her  blankets.  The 
house  was  to  be  yielded  up  to  her  for  the  night.  Garth 
and  Charley  shared  the  little  tent  outside.  Garth, 
with  his  simplicity,  and  his  air  of  quiet  understanding, 
was  above  all  one  to  win  a  boy's  confidence;  and  by 


122  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

bedtime  they  were  as  friendly  as  brothers  —  or  perhaps 
more  like  a  very  young  father  and  his  oldest  son. 

When  they  rolled  up  side  by  side  in  their  blankets 
Charley  seemed  to  put  off  several  years.  He  hunched 
closer  to  his  bedfellow;  and  pressed  his  shoulder 
warmly  against  Garth's. 

"Are  you  sleepy?"  he  asked  diffidently. 

Garth's  heart  warmed  to  the  act  and  the  speech. 
"Why,  no!"  he  said.  "Believe  I'll  have  another 
smoke  before  dropping  off.  Fire  away,  old  boy !" 

"Say,  it's  simply  great  to  have  somebody  young  to 
talk  to,"  said  poor  Charley.  "Somebody  that  under- 
stands; and  that  you  can  let  yourself  go  with,  and  say 
whatever  comes  into  your  head  to.  Say,  I  never  had 
such  a  good  time  in  all  my  life  as  to-night.  All  the 
fellows  up  here  —  they're  a  good  sort  all  right  —  but 
they're  a  rough,  cursing  lot.  And  of  course,  a  fellow 
has  to  curse  too;  and  talk  big  just  to  keep  his  end  up  — 
chuck  a  bluff,  you  know,  or  they'll  think  you're  a  molly. 
And  I  just  love  to  laugh,  and  act  foolish;  and  I  always 
have  to  hold  myself  in.  Sometimes  I  near  bust!" 

"I  get  like  that  myself,"  said  Garth  encouragingly. 

There  was  something  else  on  Charley's  mind;  but 
for  a  long  time  his  tongue  sheered  off  at  every  approach 
to  it.  Finally,  rolling  over,  he  hid  a  hot  cheek  on 
Garth's  shoulder;  and  it  came  out  with  a  rush. 

"Say!  I  think  she's  the  prettiest  girl  I  ever  laid  eyes 
on!"  " 

Garth's  arm  tightened  about  the  boy's  shoulders 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  123 

"She's  the  first  white  girl  I've  seen  in  nearly  two 
years,"  he  floundered  on;  "and  girls  meant  nothing  to 
me  then.  But  I  know  darned  well  she's  no  ordinary 
white  girl.  Isn't  it  wonderful,  the  different  ways  she 
looks;  and  all  that  her  voice  seems  to  mean  besides  the 
words  she  says;  and  the  way  she  walks  and  sits  down; 
and  the  way  she  lifts  her  arm  ?  Isn't  it  a  pretty  arm  ? 
And  the  finest  thing  about  her  is,  she  deals  plain  with 
you  like  a  fellow;  no  silly  fuss  and  make-believe,  and 
hanging-back  about  her!" 

If  Garth  liked  the  boy  before,  he  was  prepared  to 
love  him  for  this. 

"Did  you  mark  how  she  called  me  Mr.  Landrum  ?" 
continued  Charley  eagerly.  "She  just  did  that  to 
please  me,  I  know.  Didn't  it  sound  funny?  My 
chest  expanded  two  inches,  I  swear  it  did!  Wasn't 
she  kind  to  me  ?  She  had  no  call  to  be  so  kind  to  me. 
It  just  makes  me  want  to  do  something  terrific!  Oh, 
if  I  could  only  do  something  for  her !  —  wouldn't  I 
just  be  glad  of  the  chance!" 

He  was  silent  for  a  while,  tossing  uneasily  in  his 
blanket.  "Say,  there's  something  I  want  to  tell  you," 
he  blurted  out  at  last.  "I'm  certainly  good  and 
ashamed  of  myself!  There's  a  girl  down  the  shore, 
her  name  is  Julia;  she's  not  a  bad-looker  for  a 
breed.  She  came  around  my  cabin  sometimes. 
I  was  kind  of  lonesome,  you  see;  and  she  was  young, 
like  me  - 

Garth  let  him  see  that  he  understood  —  and  he  did 


124  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

understand,  both  the  pitiful  little  tale,  and  the  boy's 
reason  for  wishing  to  tell  him. 

"And  to  think  of  her  asleep  in  there  now!"  he  con- 
tinued remorsefully.  "  It  makes  me  sick  and  disgusted 
with  myself.  I'd  give  anything  if  it  hadn't  happened! 
You  bet  I'll  have  no  truck  with  them  in  future!" 

"Every  man  makes  mistakes,  old  boy,"  said  Garth. 

Charley,  his  mind  relieved  by  confession,  in  the 
midst  of  further  rhapsodies,  suddenly  fell  asleep. 

In  the  morning  he  awoke  all  of  a  piece,  as  boys 
do,  and  rolling  over,  said  instantly: 

"Natalie  is  sure  the  prettiest  name  there  is!" 

Later  in  the  day  in  the  middle  of  their  somewhat 
hopeless  deliberations  upon  the  repairing  of  the  half- 
submerged  Flat-iron  —  her  flimsily  hung  planks  had 
been  started  even  by  her  gentle  journey  on  the  river  - 
there  was  a  hail  from  down-stream.  Looking,  they 
saw  four  swart  figures  bending  one  after  another  in  a 
tracking-harness,  crawling  around  the  edge  of  the 
cut-bank  below.  Presently  a  sharp  prow  nosed  around 
the  bend;  and  a  long,  low,  double-ended  galley  swung 
into  view,  floating  lazily  on  the  current  like  a  gigantic 
duck. 

"A  York  boat!"  cried  Charley  in  surprise.  "Didn't 
know  any  was  due!  Here's  your  chance  to  cross  the 
lake!" 

"Hm!"  said  Garth  doubtfully.  "We'll  find  out, 
first,  what  news  she  brings  from  below." 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  125 

At  the  sight  of  the  open  water  ahead,  the  breeds 
redoubled  their  shouting,  and  hit  up  their  pace.  It 
was  interesting  to  see  how,  once  having  got  her  under 
way,  they  could  allow  nothing  to  stop  them;  but  needs 
must  crash  through  obstructions  regardless;  slipping, 
scrambling,  literally  clawing  their  way  along.  When- 
ever the  rope  caught,  it  was  the  part  of  the  fourth  man 
to  slip  out  of  his  collar,  and  disengage  it,  without  stop- 
ping the  others.  It  was  racking  work  on  the  frame 
of  a  man;  but  the  feather-headed  breeds  ceaselessly 
chattered  and  shouted,  like  boys  out  of  school;  roaring 
with  laughter  when  any  one  of  the  four  came  down. 
In  the  stern  stood  the  helmsman,  pulling  her  head 
around,  with  a  mighty  sweep,  extending  astern;  and 
the  other  four  of  the  crew,  resting  from  their  spell  of 
tracking,  fended  her  off  the  bank  with  poles.  The 
York  boat,  pointed  bow  and  stern,  low  amidships, 
and  undecked,  reminded  Garth  of  the  pictures  he  had 
seen  of  ancient  Norse  galleys. 

Arriving  opposite  the  cabin,  they  all  leaped  aboard; 
and  poling  across,  landed  in  front  of  where  Garth  and 
Charley  stood.  Natalie,  not  caring  to  run  the  gauntlet 
of  another  battery  of  stupid  stares,  had  retired  to  the 
cabin.  On  the  prow  of  the  boat,  which  had  a  dingy, 
weather-beaten  look,  very  different  from  the  smart 
green  and  white  craft  of  the  "  Company,"  was  crookedly 
painted  the  name  Loseis.  Making  her  fast,  the  breeds, 
with  furtive  stares  at  Garth,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  like  tired  dogs.  It  was  not  long,  however, 


126  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

before  a  "  stick- kettle,"  the  invariable  tom-tom,  was 
produced,  the  ear-splitting  chant  raised,  and  a  game 
of  met-o-wan,  a  sort  of  Cree  equivalent  for  Billy-Billy- 
who's-got-the-button,  started  on  the  shore. 

The  steersman,  pausing  only  to  put  on  a  gold- 
embroidered  waistcoat,  approached  Garth  with  a 
disposition  to  be  friendly  —  too  friendly  by  half,  Garth 
thought.  He  was  an  undersized  man  of  not  more  than 
thirty,  but  already  somewhat  withered;  a  specimen 
of  the  unwholesome,  weedy  breed  of  the  settlements. 

"Well,  Charley,"  he  said  affably. 

They  shook  hands  with  the  touch  of  impressiveness 
that  always  marks  this  ceremony  in  the  North;  and  then 
Hooliam,  with  a  shifty  glance,  extended  his  hand  to 
Garth.  At  the  same  time  he  said  something  in  Cree. 

"  He  says :  *  You  want  to  go  up  the  lake,' "  translated 
Charley. 

"How  does  he  know  that?"  asked  Garth  quickly. 

Hooliam  answered  in  Cree  without  waiting  for 
Charley  to  translate.  Evidently,  like  most  of  the 
breeds,  he  understood  more  English  than  he  cared 
to  confess. 

"  He  says  that  Pierre  Toma  told  him,"  said  Charley. 

"Ask  him  how  it  is  he  comes  up  with  such  a  small 
load,"  suggested  Garth. 

Charley  repeated  the  question  in  Cree.  Hooliam's 
answer  was  prompt  and  glib.  "  He  says  that  the  water 
was  too  low  to  bring  a  full  load,"  translated  Charley. 

"Ask  him  when  he  means  to  go  on,"  said  Garth 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  127 

Hooliam  gave  a  glance  at  the  still  tossing  lake.  "As 
joon  as  the  wind  dies  or  changes.  This  wind  would 
blow  him  right  back  on  the  shore,"  such  the  gist  of  his 
answer  by  way  of  Charley. 

"Tell  him  to  let  me  know  before  he  starts;  and  I'll 
tell  him  if  we  wish  to  go  along,"  said  Garth  coolly. 

"I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  you,"  he  added  in  a 
lower  tone  for  Charley's  benefit. 

They  sat  down  apart  on  the  sand. 

"What  do  you  think  of  this  outfit,  Charley?"  asked 
Garth. 

The  boy  was  surprised  at  the  question.  "Well," 
he  said,  "it  does  look  a  bit  queer,  their  coming  all  this 
way  with  half  a  load.  But  you  never  can  tell  about 
these  crazy  niggers;  they  may  have  dumped  out  half 
their  stuff  on  the  bank  somewhere,  and  left  it  to  rot. 
A  French  range  for  the  inspector  has  been  lying  on  the 
point  across  the  river  for  two  months." 

"Who  is  this  Hooliam  ?"  Garth  asked. 

"He  boats  back  and  forth  pretty  regular.  He's  a 
footless  kind  of  breed  —  but  straight,  as  far  as  I  know. 
What  do  you  care  ?"  the  boy  asked  curiously.  "If  he 
takes  you  on  board,  he's  got  to  put  you  across." 

Garth  looked  at  Charley  estimatingly.  But  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  the  boy's  straight-eyed,  whole- 
souled  devotion  to  Natalie;  and  he  quickly  made  up  his 
mind.  He  told  him  briefly  what  had  occurred  on  the 
way  in. 

Charley  whistled  in  astonishment.     "So  that's  the 


128  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

kind  Nick  Grylls  is!"  he  exclaimed.  "He  sure  must 
have  gone  clean  daft!" 

"This  Hooliam,"  Garth  continued,  "is  too  anxious, 
judging  by  others  of  his  kind,  to  get  us  on  board.  I 
suspect  Nick  Grylls  has  a  share  in  this  outfit.  On 
the  other  hand  we  have  less  than  a  week's  grub  left. 
What  have  you  got,  Charley  ?" 

"Nothing  but  sow-bosom  and  beans,"  said  the  boy 
disconsolately;  "and  damn  little  of  that!  It  isn't  good 
enough  for  her!" 

"Any  chance  of  another  boat  ?"  asked  Garth. 

Charley  shook  his  head.  "No  Company  boat  due 
for  three  weeks,"  he  said. 

Garth  set  his  jaw.  "Then  there's  no  help  for  it," 
he  said  firmly.  "We'll  have  to  go  with  Hooliam. 
I'll  make  him  take  our  little  boat  along,  so  we  won't 
be  entirely  at  his  mercy;  and  I'll  watch  him  close." 

Charley  leaned  toward  Garth.  The  boy  uncon- 
sciously clenched  his  hands;  and  in  the  intensity  of  his 
eagerness,  his  eyes  actually  filled.  "I  say,  Garth, 
take  me  along  with  you,"  he  pleaded. 

Garth,  looking  at  him  gratefully,  thought  none  but 
a  boy  could  be  so  generous.  "But  I  can't  take  you 
away  from  your  own  work,"  he  objected. 

Charley  brushed  it  impatiently  out  of  sight.  "What 
does  that  matter!"  he  exclaimed.  "It  can  wait."  He 
redoubled  his  pleadings.  "This  was  what  I  wanted 
so  badly,  Garth!  To  be  a  little  use  to  her!  I  could 
help  —  you  think  I'm  just  a  crazy  kid,  and  maybe 


THE    HEART    OF    A    BOY  129 

I  am,  but  I  could  think  like  a  man,  and  plan  like  a  man 
for  her!  You  and  I  could  stand  watch  and  watch. 
Say,  after  what  you've  told  me,  I'd  go  near  out  of  my 
head  to  see  you  two  sail  away,  and  me  left  behind, 
not  knowing  what  was  happening!" 

Garth  was  more  moved  than  he  cared  to  show. 
"You're  true  blue,  Charley,"  he  said  in  a  low  tone. 
"You  come  along!" 


X 

ON  CARIBOU  LAKE 

FROM  sundown  until  daybreak,  the  ki-yi-ing 
and  the  beating  of  the  stick-kettle  on  the  shore 
desecrated  the  stillness  of  the  night  with  scarcely 
any  intermission.  Shortly  after  daybreak,  the  wind 
having  gone  down,  Hooliam  sent  word  to  Garth  that  he 
would  like  to  start. 

They  were  ready  in  a  few  minutes.  At  the  sight 
of  Charley's  bundle  with  the  others,  Hooliam  scowled 
and  muttered  in  Cree. 

"  Says  he  can't  take  me,"  said  Charley. 

Garth  flushed  angrily.  "This  was  all  it  needed," 
he  burst  out.  "What  reason  does  he  give  ?" 

"No  reason/'  said  Charley  coolly.  "Just  talks 
foolish." 

Hooliam  added  something  with  a  great  show  of 
plausibility. 

"  Says  he  hasn't  got  room,"  said  Charley  with  a  laugh. 

"Rubbish!"  said  Garth.  "You  tell  him  he  takes 
the  three  of  us  or  none !  Give  it  to  him  strong ! " 

Upon  receipt  of  this  ultimatum,  Hooliam,  shrugging, 
turned  away;  and  the  three  of  them  boarded  the  Loseis. 

130 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  131 

Running  out  two  pairs  of  clumsy  sweeps,  which  were 
no  more  than  good-sized  trees  a  little  flattened  at  one 
end,  they  laboriously  pulled  out  of  the  river.  Before 
them  the  lake  stretched  to  the  horizon  as  smooth  and 
colourless  as  a  lightly  frosted  pane.  Loons,  herons 
and  a  little  kind  of  gull;  ducks  in  pairs  and  squadrons; 
flocks  of  brown  geese  and  shining  white  swans, 
wheeled,  sailed  and  swam  about  them  in  countless 
numbers. 

When  they  had  rowed  upward  of  a  mile  into  the  lake 
a  mighty  discussion  suddenly  arose  amongst  the  crew. 
The  oarsmen  ceased  their  labours  to  take  part  in  it. 
Eight  wetted  brown  forefingers  were  held  aloft. 

"They're  scrapping  about  whether  there  is  any 
wind,"  Charley  explained. 

To  a  white  man's  senses  there  was  no  sign  of  wind; 
nevertheless  the  oars  were  run  in,  the  cargo  shifted, 
and  the  heavy  mast,  with  infinite  labour,  stepped 
amidships  and  guyed.  Hooliam  looked  on  indif- 
ferently from  the  stern,  idly  swinging  his  great  sweep 
back  and  forth.  Finally  a  dirty  square  sail  was  raised. 
It  declined  to  belly  or  flap  in  the  slightest  degree; 
but  the  breeds,  satisfied  with  what  they  had  done, 
lay  around  the  boat,  preparing  to  enjoy  themselves 
in  luxurious  ease.  They  amused  themselves  by  tempt- 
ing the  water-fowl  close  with  imitations  of  their  cries; 
and  popping  at  them  ineffectively  with  their  twenty-two 
"trade-guns." 

Garth  stood  it  as  long  as  he  could. 


132  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"Look  here!"  he  said  at  length  to  Charley.  "Ask 
him  how  long  this  is  going  to  last." 

Charley  translated.  Hooliam  looked  sagely  astern, 
spat,  and  answered  in  Cree. 

"He  says  there'll  be  a  breeze  by  and  by,"  said 
Charley. 

The  scarcely  veiled  insolence  of  this  reply  caused 
Garth  inwardly  to  fume.  However,  reflecting  that, 
after  all,  Hooliam  ought  to  know  more  about  navi- 
gation than  he,  he  possessed  his  soul  in  patience  for 
another  half-hour.  There  was  still  no  sign  of  wind; 
and  it  was  growing  very  hot  in  the  sun.  Garth,  setting 
his  jaw,  drew  out  his  watch. 

"Tell  him  I'll  give  him  just  fifteen  minutes  longer," 
he  said  quietly.  "If  we're  not  under  way  by  that 
time,  there's  going  to  be  trouble." 

Hooliam  received  the  message  with  apparent  indif- 
ference. Garth  held  his  watch  in  his  hand.  Three 
minutes  before  the  expiration  of  the  time,  he  had 
Charley  convey  a  final  warning  to  the  breed.  Hooliam 
suddenly  became  voluble  and  expostulatory. 

"  He  says  the  boys  won't  work  when  there's  a  breeze 
coming  up,"  said  Charley. 

"You  tell  him,  then,  that  I  will  take  command  of 
this  boat,  and  run  her  myself,"  said  Garth. 

At  the  last  moment  the  orders  were  hastily  given. 
The  mast  was  reluctantly  taken  down,  and  hung  over 
the  side;  the  cargo  was  shifted  back,  and  the 
sweeps  run  out.  The  breeds  rowed  half-heartedly, 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  133 

with  furtive  scowls  for  the  moon-i-yas  who  made 
them  work. 

After  a  couple  of  hours  during  which  they  covered 
a  scant  three  miles,  a  breeze  did  spring  up  from  astern; 
whereupon  the  whole  business  of  raising  the  mast  was 
gone  through  with  again.  Little  by  little  it  freshened, 
and  the  Loseis  began  to  forge  ahead,  making  a  pleasant 
little  murmur  under  her  forefoot.  The  hearts  of  the 
three  passengers  rose  in  unison. 

But  they  had  not  sailed  two  miles  more,  when  the 
exasperated  Garth  discovered  that  Hooliam  was  slyly 
edging  his  craft  inside  a  point  of  the  shore.  At 
first  the  breed  unblushingly  denied  any  intention 
of  stopping;  but  when  it  became  apparent  that 
he  could  not  round  the  point  without  hauling 
down  the  sail,  he  coolly  admitted  that  he  was  going 
to  land. 

"What  for?"  Garth  demanded. 

"They're  going  ashore  to  spell  —  to  cook  and  eat," 
Charley  explained.  "Hooliam  says  there  is  no  other 
place  to  land  in  fifteen  miles." 

Garth  was  obliged  to  be  content. 

With  the  characteristic  prodigality  of  the  breeds, 
an  enormous  fire  was  built  on  the  shore,  over  which 
their  tea  was  furiously  boiled  in  an  iron  pail,  and  their 
dried  moose  meat  stewed  a  little  less  tough  than  moc- 
casins. At  a  little  distance  the  three  passengers  made 
their  own  preparations  for  lunch. 

Natalie,  serenely  trusting  in  Garth,  put  aside  all 


134  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

anxiety  about  the  outcome  of  their  journey;    and  was 
frankly  interested  and  amused. 

"Mercy!"  she  exclaimed.  "They'll  all  die  of 
tannic  poisoning!  And  look  what  they  eat!  The 
bacon  is  as  green  as  arsenic!" 

She  proved  to  be  using  her  eyes  and  ears  to  good 
advantage  on  the  way. 

"The  tall  boy,"  she  said,  "the  one  that  looks  like 
an  actor;  he's  the  humourist  of  the  party.  He  keeps 
them  in  fits  of  laughter  by  giving  moon-i-yas  imitations. 
He  mimics  us  to  our  very  faces.  Their  idea  of  us  is 
too  funny!  The  good-looking  little  one  is  his  insepa- 
rable friend;  they  hold  hands  when  they're  not  working. 
The  one  with  the  whitey-blue  eyes  is  called  by  a  very 
blasphemous  name.  I  watched  him  turning  over  the 
pages  of  some  stove  catalogues  that  dropped  out  of 
a  crate,  with  such  a  serious  air.  And  they  were  all 
exactly  alike,  but  he  didn't  know  it,  because  he  held 
some  of  them  upside  down!  What  do  you  suppose 
he  made  of  a  picture  of  a  self-feeder  standing  on  its 
head?" 

To  Garth  it  seemed  as  if  they  took  an  interminable 
time  to  prepare  and  eat  their  simple  meal;  and  after- 
ward there  could  no  longer  be  any  doubt,  from  the 
way  they  loafed  about,  that  they  were  soldiering,  as 
a  result  of  Hooliam's  low-voiced  encouragement. 
They  grinned  with  childish  impudence  at  the  scowling 
moon-i-yas.  At  last  Hooliam  produced  a  pack  of  cards 
and  a  game  of  "jack-pot"  was  started  on  the  shore. 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  135 

This  constituted  frank  defiance;  and  Garth  took 
instant  action. 

"Put  up  those  cards!"  he  commanded. 

The  boys  laughed  and  looked  at  Hooliam. 

"Get  on  board  the  boat,"  Garth  ordered,  through 
Charley. 

Hooliam's  eyes  bolted;  but  he  made  no  move. 
With  the  sheer  perversity  of  a  child  or  a  savage,  he 
insisted  there  was  no  wind,  even  while  the  ripples 
were  washing  the  stones  at  his  feet. 

Garth,  thoroughly  exasperated,  picked  up  his 
rifle.  His  eyes  glinted  dangerously.  "There's  some- 
thing behind  this  nonsense!"  he  cried.  "And  I'm 
going  to  stop  it!  You  let  him  understand  that  if  he 
opposes  me  any  further  I  have  eleven  cartridges  in 
the  magazine  of  this  rifle,  and  I  would  think  as  little 
of  bringing  him  down  as  that  wavy  up  there!" 

A  wild  swan,  most  difficult  of  marks,  was  sailing 
high  overhead.  Garth,  as  he  spoke,  took  aim  and 
fired;  and  the  great  bird  dropped  like  a  plummet  in 
the  shallow  water  off"  shore. 

Loud  exclamations  of  admiration  broke  from  the 
boys.  Three  of  them  dashed  enthusiastically  into 
the  water  to  contend  for  the  honour  of  bringing  back 
the  prize.  Garth  builded  better  than  he  knew.  The 
boys  while  scarcely  understanding  the  threat,  were 
instantly  impressed  with  the  successful  shot;  and  with 
it  Garth  established  himself  once  and  for  all  in  their 
eyes.  They  instinctively  began  to  carry  the  things 


136  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

on  board  as  he  had  ordered;  and  in  the  end  the  scowl- 
ing Hooliam  was  obliged  to  follow  them  on  board, 
or  be  left  behind. 

As  they  were  getting  under  way  again,  Garth 
observed  Hooliam  busy  with  the  sail.  When  it  was 
hoisted,  it  appeared  he  had  taken  a  reef  in  it. 

"Shake  it  out!"   Garth  commanded. 

Hooliam  shrugged  and  protested. 

"He  says  the  mast  is  not  strong,"  Charley  translated. 
"This  heavy  wind  will  carry  it  away,"  he  says. 

"Just  now  he  said  there  was  no  wind,"  Garth  said. 
"Let  her  go;  and  if  anything  breaks  we'll  mend  it." 

Hooliam  in  a  long  harangue,  demanded  to  know 
through  Charley,  if  Garth  would  pay  for  the  damage. 

For  answer  Garth  merely  picked  up  his  rifle;  and 
the  reef  was  let  out  in  a  hurry. 

In  all  this  there  was  something  more  than  mere 
savage  perversity;  Hooliam,  it  was  clear,  had  an 
urgent  private  reason  for  wishing  to  delay  the  journey. 
He  had  not  sufficient  command  of  his  features  to  hide 
his  chagrin  at  the  failure  of  his  several  attempts.  He 
sulked  all  afternoon.  Garth  sat  with  his  weapon 
across  his  knees;  and  his  steady  gaze  never  wandered 
far  from  the  steersman.  Willy-nilly,  Hooliam  was 
compelled  to  hold  the  Losets  to  her  course;  and  by 
four  o'clock,  the  wind  holding  light  and  steady,  they 
had  covered  about  thirty  miles  of  their  journey. 

About  this  time  the  mast  of  another  boat  was  dis- 
covered sticking  above  the  bank  of  a  creek  on  shore. 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  137 

The  usual  excited  discussion  arose  —  this  time  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  craft.  Finally  the  Loseis's  prow 
was  turned  toward  the  shore.  Garth  demanded  an 
explanation.  Hooliam,  more  obsequious  now,  said 
that  it  was  Phillippe's  boat  on  the  way  out;  and  he 
had  messages  to  deliver  him  from  their  common 
employers  at  the  Landing.  Garth  suspected  another 
excuse;  but  he  was  very  reluctant  to  interfere  with 
the  real  business  of  the  North;  and  since  it  was  almost 
time  to  spell  for  another  meal,  he  decided  to  make  no 
objections. 

With  true  half-breed  impetuosity  they  chose  the 
worst  place  in  miles  on  which  to  beach  the  Loseis. 
Her  forefoot  was  run  on  a  bar  fully  two  hundred  yards 
off  shore;  and  communications  were  carried  on  by 
means  of  laborious  wading,  waist-deep,  to  and  fro. 
The  moment  she  touched,  the  entire  crew  and  the 
skipper,  dropping  everything,  dashed  pell  mell  for 
the  beach  and  across  the  intervening  sand  to  the 
camp  of  the  other  boatmen  on  the  shore  of  the  creek. 
The  passengers  ferried  themselves  ashore  in  the  Flat- 
iron,  which  had  been  stowed,  much  against  Hooliam's 
will,  on  board  the  Loseis. 

After  supper,  as  time  passed  and  there  was  no  sign 
of  the  returning  crew,  Garth  sent  Charley  after  Hooliam 
with  a  peremptory  message.  Hooliam  returned,  cap 
in  hand,  his  whole  attitude  changed.  He  expressed 
a  willingness  to  start  immediately;  but  deprecatingly 
pointed  out  that  a  storm  threatened;  and  apologized 


138  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

for  the  unseaworthy  condition  of  the  Loseis.  This 
time  he  had  reason  on  his  side;  for  angry  clouds  were 
heaped  about  the  setting  sun;  and  the  orb  itself  was 
peering  luridly  between  parted  curtains  of  crimson 
rain.  Garth,  still  suspecting  him,  was  yet  taken  at 
a  disadvantage.  He  thought  of  Natalie  on  board  the 
shelterless  Loseis  in  a  rainstorm;  and  finally  announced 
his  wish  to  remain  where  they  were  for  the  night. 
Hooliam  smirked  demurely,  in  ill-concealed  satisfaction. 

All  returned  to  the  Loseis  for  what  was  needed  during 
the  night.  The  preparations  to  secure  the  York  boat 
against  the  threatening  storm  were  highly  character- 
istic of  her  hit-or-miss  crew.  A  stake  was  driven  in 
the  sand  of  the  lake  bottom,  at  either  side  the  stern, 
and  the  rudder-post  lashed  between.  This  flimsy 
apparatus  was  designed  to  keep  the  boat  from  being 
driven  broadside  on  the  bar.  The  practical  Garth 
frowned  impatiently  at  its  utter  insufficiency;  but  the 
breeds  could  scarcely  contain  their  impatience  to  resume 
their  gambling  with  the  other  crew;  and  presently 
they  dashed  off,  leaving  the  Loseis  to  her  fate. 

Garth  pitched  his  camp  under  the  shelter  of  a  line 
of  willows,  marking  the  edge  of  higher  ground  along 
the  wide  waste  of  sand.  The  two  crews  with  their 
ceaseless  tom-tom  on  the  shore  of  the  creek,  were 
upward  of  half  a  mile  away.  Natalie  was  made 
comfortable  in  her  tent;  and  Garth  and  Charley, 
collecting  a  pile  of  firewood,  covered  it  with  a  tar- 
paulin, against  the  coming  rain.  Charley,  who  had 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  139 

slept  during  the  afternoon,  was  to  watch  until  two 
o'clock;  and  Garth,  covering  himself  with  a  piece  of 
sail-cloth,  lay  down  at  the  door  of  the  tent. 

It  seemed  to  him  he  had  no  more  than  fallen  asleep, 
when  Charley  shook  his  shoulder  to  awaken  him. 

"It's  one  o'clock,"  the  boy  said.  "I  think  some- 
thing has  happened  in  the  camp  over  there.  They 
quieted  down;  but  now  they  have  started  up  again, 
and  have  built  up  their  fire.  Looks  to  me  as  if  some- 
body had  arrived.  Thought  I'd  better  wake  you, 
while  I  sneaked  over  and  took  a  look." 

Charley  was  gone  more  than  an  hour.  Returning, 
as  soon  as  he  had  entered  the  circle  of  the  firelight, 
Garth  saw  by  his  face  that  something  important  was 
in  the  wind. 

" I  was  right,"  the  boy  said.  "Nick  Grylls  has  come. 
He  arrived  in  a  canoe  with  a  breed;  and  sent  him  back. 
Nick  and  Hooliam  went  outside  the  camp,  and  talked 
by  themselves.  I  listened  from  behind  a  willow  bush. 
Nick  Grylls  knows  a  lot  more  Cree  than  I  do,  and  I 
couldn't  understand  everything;  but  I  got  the  gist 
of  it.  Nick  was  giving  Hooliam  hell  all  around  — 
first  for  making  him  paddle  all  night  —  it  seems 
Hooliam  ought  to  have  waited  for  him  at  that  point 
where  we  spelled  this  morning  —  and  then  for  bringing 
me.  That  was  the  sorest  touch;  for  Nick  knows  I 
understand  Cree.  He  said  it  upset  all  his  plans." 

"It  was  a  mighty  good  thing  for  Natalie  and  me, 
that  we  had  you  to-day!"  Garth  put  in. 


140  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  boy  blushed  with  pleasure. 

"Goon,"  Garth  said. 

"  Grylls  was  pretty  mum  about  these  plans  of  his/* 
Charley  continued.  "I  guess  he  only  lets  Hooliam 
know  part.  I  caught  just  a  word  or  two.  One  thing 
was  clear;  you  are  his  mark.  I  made  out  there  was 
to  have  been  a  row  at  the  point,  and  you  were  to  have 
been  put  out  of  business,  so  you  couldn't  keep  on  with 
this  journey.  Then  Nick  was  to  happen  along  as  if 
by  accident;  you  were  to  -be  sent  to  the  half-breeds 
at  Swan  river  to  be  taken  care  of,  and  Nick  was  going 
to  do  the  friendly  act,  and  help  Natalie  on  her  way. 
I  bet  she  never  would  have  got  there !  In  some  way  Nick 
has  learned  all  about  Natalie;  for  he  seems  to  know 
where  she's  going;  and  what  for.  Anyway,  you  put 
his  scheme  to  the  bad  by  winning  over  the  boys;  and 
he  is  hot. 

"He  acted  queer,  too,"  Charley  went  on.  "The 
first  thing  he  asked  was,  if  Natalie  was  well;  and  his 
voice  sounded  crying-like.  Say,  he's  changed  alto- 
gether from  the  hearty  old  sport,  that  used  to  travel 
through  the  country  like  a  lord,  handing  out  cigars. 
He's  losing  flesh.  I  think  he's  a  bit  touched." 

When  the  boy  finished,  Garth  took  a  turn,  breath- 
ing deeply;  and  finally  returning  to  the  fire,  sought 
that  trusty  counsellor,  his  pipe.  "I'm  glad  he's  turned 
up,"  he  said  coolly.  "This  is  more  like  fighting  in 
the  open.  And  thanks  to  you,  I'm  well  warned." 

He  smoked  a  while  in  silence.     "I  suspect  I'll  have 


ON    CARIBOU    LAKE  141 

my  work  cut  out  for  me  to-morrow,"  he  resumed 
reflectively.  Presently  he  gripped  Charley's  shoulder, 
and  searched  the  boy's  face.  "  I'll  be  damn  thankful 
to  have  you  along,  old  fellow,"  he  said.  "  But  I  don't 
think  I  have  any  right  to  let  you  in  for  this.  This 
man  is  very  powerful  in  the  country;  and  he  can  spoil 
all  your  chances.  You  had  better  go  back  with  Phil- 
lippe.  Neither  Natalie  nor  I  would  ever  blame  you." 

The  boy  turned  away  his  head.  "I  —  I  can't 
talk  about  it,"  he  faltered.  "If  you  go  on  that  way 
you'll  have  me  crying  like  a  girl!  You  could  talk  all 
night,  and  it  wouldn't  do  any  good!  What  do  you 
think  I  am  ?  I'm  not  going  to  miss  the  fun!" 

Garth  laughed.  " Turn  in,"  he  said  briefly.  "You'll 
need  all  the  sleep  you  can  get." 


XI 

THE  FIGHT  IN  THE  STORM 

GARTH  and  Natalie  were  wondering  next  morn- 
ing with  what  kind  of  a  face  Nick  Grylls 
would  greet  them.     He  was  the  last  to  come 
off  to  the  boat.     Hooliam  took  possession  of  the  punt 
as  a  matter  of  course,  to  bring  him  aboard;  but  Garth, 
determined  not  to  allow  the  slightest  act  of  insolence 
to  pass  unchallenged  to-day,  curtly  ordered  it  back; 
and  the  fat  trader  was  obliged  to  wade  out  like  the 
breeds,  and  scramble  over  the  side  of  the  Loseis  —  a 
very  undignified  reentrance  upon  the  scene. 

His  demeanour  was  remarkable.  All  the  way  out 
from  the  shore  he  had  probably  been  shaping  the 
character  in  which  he  meant  to  make  his  bow.  He 
threw  a  leg  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  affecting  all  his 
old,  blustering  heartiness;  but  the  first  sight  of  Natalie 
and  Garth  awaiting  him,  wholly  self-possessed  and 
unconcerned  —  they  had  determined  in  advance  not 
to  stoop  to  the  pretense  of  any  surprise  at  seeing  him  - 
pricked  him  like  a  blown  bladder.  His  eyes  bolted; 
he  nodded  at  them  askance;  and  he  mumbled  the  words 
he  had  been  intending  to  shout.  Catching  sight  of* 

142 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  143 

Charley  directly,  he  attempted  to  carry  off  his  dis- 
comfiture by  assuming  an  added  boisterousness. 

"Hello,  Charley!"  he  cried.  "What's  the  good 
word,  boy?" 

"Hello,  Mr.  Grylls,"  returned  Charley  with  a 
demure  grin,  that  was  highly  creditable  to  his  powers 
of  dissimulation.  "Where  did  you  drop  from  ?" 

Grylls  guffawed  with  an  overdone  assumption  of  a 
man  at  his  ease.  "Oh,  I  got  a  sudden  call  up  to  the 
Settlement,"  he  said,  in  a  tone  meant  to  reach  Garth's 
ears.  "Got  a  big  deal  on  to  sell  out  my  posts  on  the 
Spirit.  I  overtook  you  folks  last  night;  and  sent  my 
canoe  back.  Thought  I  might  as  well  save  money. 
Have  a  cigar  ?" 

"Thanks,"  said  Charley.  The  boy  lighted  it  elab- 
orately, and  commended  the  quality  with  the  air  of  a 
connoisseur. 

"You're  all  right,  kid!"  cried  Nick,  clapping  him 
on  the  back.  "I  tell  you  I'm  blame  glad  to  have  a 
white  man  to  talk  to  on  the  way  up" — this  with  a 
side  glance  at  Garth.  "What  are  you  doing  away 
from  home  at  this  season  ?" 

"Grub  running  low,"  said  Charley  readily.  "Had 
to  go  to  the  Settlement  for  a  fresh  supply." 

"  Well  you  go  to  Jonesy  of  the  French  outfit,"  bel- 
lowed Nick;  "  and  tell  him  to  give  you  my  prices!" 

Nick  kept  the  boy  at  his  side  all  day,  flattering  and 
cajoling  him  with  an  immense  patronage,  that,  coming 
from  the  great  man  of  the  country,  was  meant  to  turn 


144  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

the  head  of  this,  the  youngest  of  its  settlers.  In  this 
Nick  had  a  double  purpose:  he  wished,  of  course,  to 
secure  the  boy's  interest  to  himself;  but  he  also  wished 
Garth  and  Natalie  to  see  what  a  fine,  generous  fellow 
he  could  be  when  he  got  half  a  chance.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  the  child  in  the  self-indulgent  trader; 
and  he  had  not  lived  among  the  breeds  for  twenty-five 
years  without  imbibing  many  of  their  characteristics. 
As  to  the  boy,  Garth  and  Natalie  felt  not  a  moment's 
uneasiness;  Charley  met  Nick's  advances  with  a  kind 
of  imitative  bluster,  that  was  a  source  of  great  secret 
delight  to  Natalie. 

The  day's  journey  was  uneventful.  Grylls  kept  him- 
self forward  of  the  mast,  and  made  no  attempt  to 
address  either  Garth  or  Natalie.  Indeed,  he  appeared 
to  ignore  their  presence  on  the  boat  altogether;  which, 
considering  the  shortness  of  the  distance  separating 
them,  was  not  without  its  ridiculous  side.  Garth, 
refusing  to  be  deceived  by  this  apparent  indifference, 
kept  himself  quietly  on  the  alert.  The  breeze  continued 
favourable  but  very  light;  and  the  day  waxed  hotter  and 
hotter.  By  nightfall  they  had  covered  perhaps  another 
thirty  miles  of  the  way.  There  had  been  one  "spell" 
on  shore,  during  which  Garth  and  Natalie  elected  to 
remain  on  board,  satisfied  with  a  cold  lunch.  No 
further  offers  were  made  by  Hooliam  to  delay  the 
journey;  indeed,  such  was  now  their  apparent  anxiety 
to  complete  it,  it  was  announced  late  in  the  afternoon 
that  they  would  sail  all  night.  They  did  not  even 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  145 

wait  for  their  supper  on  shore,  but  brought  it  off  from 
the  fire  in  a  wading  procession  of  frying  pans,  and 
steaming  pails. 

A  lovely  night  succeeded.  The  velvety  floor  of 
heaven  was  strewn  lavishly  with  bright  stars;  and  later, 
the  moon,  just  past  the  full,  rose  out  of  the  lake  astern 
and  hung,  a  lovely  pale  globe,  in  the  eastern  sky.  The 
breeds  fell  asleep  one  by  one;  and  for  the  first,  the  jab- 
bering, the  ki-yi-ing  and  the  maddening  stick-kettle 
were  all  stilled.  The  Loseis  hovered  over  the  lake  with 
her  gigantic  wing  spread,  like  some  great  bird  of  the 
night.  The  only  evidences  that  she  moved  at  all  were 
the  flecks  of  foam  that  drifted  slowly  astern  under  the 
counter. 

Charley  had  constructed  a  little  niche  for  Natalie 
among  the  freight  astern  —  a  bale  of  blankets  serving 
for  a  seat,  with  a  tall  box  inclined  behind  it  for  a  back 
to  lean  against.  She  had  insisted  that  Charley  share 
it  with  her,  and  the  boy  had  sat  beside  her  too  bliss- 
ful to  speak.  In  the  end  they  both  fell  asleep,  and 
Natalie's  head  dropped  on  his  shoulder.  In  his 
dreams  the  boy  smiled  seraphically. 

Garth  watched  them  kindly  and  very  enviously; 
and  for  the  moment  wished  that  he,  too,  were  a  boy, 
whom  she  need  not  take  seriously.  There  was  no  sleep 
for  him.  He  sat  on  the  narrow  seat  encircling  the 
stern,  with  his  back  against  the  gunwale,  where,  on  the 
one  hand  he  could  watch  the  steersman  elevated  on 
his  little  platform,  while  on  the  other  side  he  was 


146  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

prepared  for  any  demonstration  from  the  bow.  The 
steersman  was  Natalie's  humorous  breed;  his  name 
was  Aleck.  Nick  Grylls  and  Hooliam  were  together 
somewhere  forward  of  the  mast;  in  the  darkness  Garth 
could  not  place  them. 

Garth's  rifle  lay  across  his  knees  —  he  would  have 
given  it,  with  much  to  boot,  for  the  quicker  and  handier 
revolver.  He  was  painfully  aware  that  nothing  would 
suit  Nick  Grylls's  purpose  so  well  as  to  knock  him 
swiftly  on  the  head,  and  heave  his  body  overboard. 
He  shrewdly  suspected  that  some  such  intention  was  the 
reason  for  this  night  sail.  It  is  easy  to  seek  danger, 
to  ride  at  it  with  a  shout,  the  pulses  leaping  —  but  to 
wait  for  it,  to  wait  motionless  in  the  still  dark  for  an 
attack  that  may  be  delivered  one  knows  not  when 
nor  from  whence  —  that  is  the  great  ordeal.  Garth 
clenched  the  stem  of  his  pipe  hard  between  his  teeth; 
and  with  a  resolute  effort  of  his  will,  put  down  the 
hysteria  that  will  at  such  a  time  constrict  the  stoutest 
throat. 

The  first  interruption  of  the  awful  stillness  came, 
not  from  man,  but  from  the  elements.  All  around  the 
western  horizon  clouds  mounted  so  swiftly  and  imper- 
ceptibly that  neither  Garth  nor  the  helmsman  was 
aware  of  what  was  preparing,  until  they  had  reached 
the  zenith.  Caribou  Lake  is  known  for  its  swift  and 
terrible  summer  storms.  A  sharp  crack  of  thunder 
was  their  first  warning.  Aleck  shouted;  and  dark 
forms  arose  here  and  there  from  their  resting  places. 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  147 

Garth  swallowed  a  sob  of  relief  for  the  diversion.  The 
storm  might  be  playing  right  into  Nick  Grylls's  hand; 
but  one  could  face  the  bustle  and  uproar  with  renewed 
courage. 

The  sail  was  brought  clattering  to  the  deck;  a  couple 
of  sweeps  were  hastily  run  out;  and  the  Loseis  was 
pulled  for  the  nearest  point  of  the  shore.  With  true 
breed  seamanship  she  was  beached  on  a  steep  and 
stony  incline  on  the  lee  side  of  a  point.  Garth  tried  his 
best  to  make  their  folly  clear  to  them;  but  none  of  the 
crew,  and  least  of  all  Hooliam,  retained  presence  of 
mind  to  comprehend.  With  united  strength  the 
breeds  dragged  her  up  as  far  as  they  could,  which  was 
but  little,  and  went  through  the  same  business  of  driv- 
ing stakes  into  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  and  lashing  the 
sternpost  between.  Garth  threw  up  his  hands  in 
helpless  exasperation.  Tarpaulins  and  sails  were 
spread  over  the  cargo  and  lashed  down.  Charley 
made  Natalie  snug  with  a  tarpaulin  roof  over  her  seat. 
Garth  commanded  him,  no  matter  what  might  happen, 
not  to  leave  her  side. 

The  storm  came  roaring  down  the  lake  like  a  vast 
animate  being;  and  there,  in  their  exposed  position, 
smote  them  hip  and  thigh.  Each  crash  of  thunder 
fell  forth  right  upon  the  echo  of  the  last;  and  the  light- 
ning played  like  wicked  laughter  on  the  face  of  the 
destroying  heavens.  Then  came  the  rain,  with  pitiless, 
whistling  whips  that  lashed  the  water,  and  bit  cruelly 
into  exposed  flesh.  Every  man  on  board,  save  one, 


148  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

instantly   dived   under  the   sail-cloths;   and   Hooliam 
was  the  first  to  seek  shelter. 

Only  Garth  dared  not  relax  his  watch  in  the  open. 
He  maintained  his  place  with  his  back  against  the 
stern,  a  piece  of  tarpaulin  across  his  knees  to  keep  his 
gun  dry,  and  his  eyes  bent  forward  in  the  boat  whence 
any  move  must  be  made  on  him.  So  sure  was  he  that 
Grylls  would  attack  him,  he  was  scarcely  conscious  of 
the  tumult  that  roared  about  his  ears.  The  wind  tore 
his  hat  off;  and  the  cold  rain  drenched  him  to  the  skin. 

Before  him,  the  lightning  luridly  showed  up  the 
trees  on  the  shore,  writhing  horridly;  and  the  wet  mast 
and  the  guy  ropes  were  often  wreathed  in  faint,  bluish 
flames.  The  Loseis  forward,  with  her  irregularly 
piled  cargo,  and  the  crouching  forms  under  the  sail- 
cloths, presented  a  thousand  shifting,  fantastic  shapes 
in  the  playing  flashes;  and  Garth  had  a  score  of  false 
alarms.  In  the  end,  his  enemy  crept  almost  upon  him 
undiscovered. 

By  the  light  of  a  great  blaze,  which  held  all  the  earth 
and  the  heavens  suspended  in  flames  for  a  moment, 
Garth  suddenly  saw  revealed  a  crouching  figure, 
and  a  hideous,  distorted  face  no  more  than  six  feet 
from  his  own.  In  the  blinding  glare  it  was  outlined 
with  a  horrid  clearness;  in  its  grossness  and  bestial 
hatred,  less  human  than  demoniacal. 

Garth,  snatching  up  his  rifle,  sprang  to  his  feet, 
but  before  he  could  point  it,  Grylls  had  flung  himself 
upon  him,  and  his  mighty  arms  were  squeezing  Garth's 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  149 

ribs  into  his  lungs.  The  useless  weapon  dropped  to 
the  deck.  Grylls,  trusting  to  his  enormous  strength, 
was  unarmed;  he  wished  to  crush  his  adversary  without 
leaving  obvious  traces  of  violence.  No  word  was 
spoken  by  either. 

They  swayed  on  the  narrow  seat  encircling  the 
stern;  and  all  sound  of  the  little  human  struggle  was 
swallowed  up  in  the  dreadful  uproar  of  the  elements. 
Natalie  and  Charley,  but  three  yards  away,  heard 
nothing.  Grylls  was  the  stronger;  Garth  contented 
himself  with  a  dogged  resistance,  trusting  to  his  better 
wind  to  serve  him  in  the  end.  Meanwhile  the  Loseis  was 
continually  heaved  under  their  feet,  and  dropped  heav- 
ily on  the  stones  by  the  mounting  breakers;  and  they 
maintained  a  footing  with  difficulty.  Nick  ceaselessly 
strained  to  force  Garth  to  his  knees.  Failing,  he  lifted 
him  clear  of  the  deck.  At  the  same  instant  the  boat 
lurched  drunkenly;  and  they  pitched  overboard 
together. 

Somehow,  they  gained  their  feet,  and  stood,  still 
locked  together,  while  the  tumbling  waves  boiled 
around  their  waists,  and  sucked  at  their  knees.  But 
Garth  had  struck  his  head  on  the  gunwale  in  falling; 
his  senses  were  slipping  away,  and  nausea  overcame 
him.  He  tried  to  cry  out;  but  the  feeble  sound  was 
lost  at  his  lips.  Nick  forced  him  slowly  down  until 
the  water  broke  over  his  head.  Garth  was  dimly  con- 
scious of  hearing  him  laugh  —  no  one  knew;  and  the 
explanation  next  day  would  be  so  simple!  But  the 


150  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

wholesome  chill  of  the  water  rolling  over  his  head  re- 
vived the  swooning  Garth.  He  collected  his  forces 
for  a  last  effort;  and,  suddenly  wrenching  his  shoulders 
from  under  the  hands  that  pressed  them  down,  he 
gained  his  feet,  and  his  hands  seized  upon  Grylls's 
throat. 

It  was  the  big  man's  vulnerable  point;  and  a  subtle 
sweetness  flooded  Garth's  breast  as  he  felt  him  begin 
to  fail.  Foul  living  was  telling  in  the  end.  Grylls 
struggled  for  his  breath  in  loud,  strangling  sobs;  and 
Garth  could  hear  his  bursting  heart  knock  at  his  ribs. 
The  smith's  arms  of  him  little  by  little  softened  of  their 
steely  strength;  he  strove  in  vain  now  to  lift  Garth  off 
his  feet.  Garth,  cool  and  strong  again,  and  always 
waiting,  let  him  tire  himself.  He  disdained  to  call 
for  help  now;  he  even  relaxed  his  grip  on  the  thick 
throat  a  little.  It  was  not  necessary  to  strangle  the 
man;  for  he  had  done  for  himself. 

Meanwhile  the  waves  broke  with  ever-increasing 
violence  on  the  frail  bulwark  the  two  bodies  offered  to 
their  impetuous  course,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  mo- 
ments when  they  would  both  be  beaten  down.  Grylls's 
knees  weakening  under  him  first,  down  they  went, 
Garth  uppermost;  and,  the  water  seizing  them,  still 
gripped  together,  they  were  rolled  over  and  over,  and 
finally  flung  up  on  the  stones. 

Stunned,  bruised  and  breathless  as  he  was,  Garth 
was  still  able  to  free  himself  from  the  automatic  grip 
of  the  other  man's  arms;  but  Grylls  lay  motionless. 


At  the  same  instant  the  boat  lurched  drunkenly;  and  they 
pitched  overboard  together 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  151 

Briefly  satisfying  himself  that  the  man  still  lived, 
Garth  dragged  him  out  of  reach  of  the  waves,  and  let- 
ting him  lie  in  the  driving  rain,  turned  his  attention 
to  the  boat. 

The  Loseis  was  in  a  bad  way.  The  waves  under  her 
stern  had  lifted  the  driven  stakes  as  easily  as  pins  are 
drawn  from  a  cushion.  She  had  immediately  swung 
broadside  on  the  beach;  and  the  waves,  crashing  under 
her  counter,  were  driving  over  her  in  clouds  of  spray 
while  her  bottom  heaved,  and  gave,  and  pounded  sicken- 
ingly  on  the  stones.  No  one  on  board  required  to  be 
told  that  a  very  little  of  this  would  separate  every 
plank  of  her  from  her  aged  ribs.  The  breed  boys 
appeared  one  by  one  from  under  the  coverings;  and 
standing  about,  dazed  and  careless  of  the  downpour, 
waited  to  be  told  what  to  do.  There  was  no  sign  of 
Hooliam. 

Garth  climbed  painfully  on  board.  Searching  for 
the  degenerate  captain,  he  stepped  on  something  soft, 
and  a  hollow  groan  issued  from  beneath  the  sail-cloth. 
He  threw  it  back,  and  dislodged  the  palpitating  Hooliam 
with  a  vigorous  foot.  The  breed  struggled  to  his 
knees,  supporting  himself  by  a  guy  rope.  Just  then 
there  was  a  blinding  flash,  and  the  mast  and  the  wet 
ropes  were  wreathed  again  for  an  instant  in  bluish 
flame.  Partly  shocked,  but  more  from  abject  fear, 
Hooliam  collapsed  with  a  brutish  moan. 

"Throw  this  carrion  ashore!"  Garth  commanded 
with  strong  disgust. 


152  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  breeds,  understanding  his  gestures,  instinct- 
ively obeyed;  and  Hooliam  was  dragged  over  the  side, 
and  dropped  on  the  beach,  not  very  far  from  the  body 
of  his  unconscious  employer. 

"We'll  have  to  save  her  ourselves!"  shouted  Garth 
to  Charley.  "Translate  my  orders!" 

The  storm  had  a  revolving  tendency;  and  the  wind 
had  now  hauled  to  the  south,  whence  it  came  shrieking 
across  the  lake  with  unabated  fury.  A  little  way 
ahead,  around  the  shallow  crescent  of  the  exposed 
bay  in  which  they  lay,  they  could  see  by  the  light  of 
the  frequent  flashes  a  point  on  which  the  waves  were 
beating  wildly;  and  beyond  there  was  a  promise  of 
smooth  water  and  safety.  It  was  only  a  little  way, 
scarcely  an  eighth  of  a  mile;  but  the  way  was  beset  with 
heartbreaking  difficulties. 

"All  hands  ashore  to  push  her  off!"  cried  Garth. 

The  breed  boys,  welcoming  a  voice  of  authority  in 
that  bewildering  chaos,  sprang  to  do  his  bidding. 
Garth  and  Charley  set  the  example,  and  the  ten  backs 
were  braced  under  the  lee  gunwale  of  the  Loseis, 
measuring  their  sinews  against  the  crashing  blows  of 
the  waves  on  the  other  side.  They  budged  her  inch 
by  inch,  often  thrown  back  again;  but  at  last  she 
floated,  and  there  they  managed  to  hold  her  for  a 
moment,  rising  and  falling.  Only  one  who  has 
measured  the  strength  of  the  surf  against  the 
smallest  craft,  may  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  their 
labour. 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM  153 

"Aleck's  crew  ahead  with  the  tracking-line/'  shout- 
ed Garth. 

The  line  is  always  kept  coiled  and  ready,  hanging 
on  the  bow.  Aleck  seized  it,  and  followed  by  three 
others,  ran  ahead  along  the  beach,  paying  it  out. 
The  four  of  them  slipped  into  the  harness;  and  digging 
their  moccasined  toes  into  the  beach,  painfully  straight- 
ened their  legs  under  the  pull.  When  the  Loseis, 
answering,  began  to  move  inch  by  inch  along  the 
shore,  Garth  put  the  remaining  men  on  board  one  at 
a  time,  where,  armed  with  their  poles,  and  braced 
almost  horizontally,  they  held  her  off  the  stones. 

Natalie  had  long  since  deserted  her  sheltered  nook, 
and,  heedless  of  the  drenching  downpour,  watched  them 
with  eager  eyes.  Garth,  his  bruises  forgotten,  seemed 
everywhere  at  once;  he  had  even  time  to  shout  a  word 
of  encouragement  to  her,  and  she  longed  mightily  to 
do  something  to  help.  Looking  around,  she  saw  her 
chance.  The  steersman's  long  sweep  lay  along  the 
deck;  running  it  aft  through  its  ring  in  the  sternpost, 
and  pushing  with  all  her  strength  against  the  stones 
astern,  she  added  her  mite  to  keep  the  boat  headed  off. 
Garth  observing,  shouted  his  approval;  and  Natalie's 
heart  waxed  big  in  her  breast. 

Inch  by  inch,  then  foot  by  foot,  they  won  their  pain- 
ful way  along  the  lee  shore.  Over  and  over  in  spite  of 
the  six  poles,  she  was  thrown  back  on  the  stones,  where- 
upon they  all  leaped  overboard  and  put  their  backs 
under  her  lee.  There  was  once  when,  Garth's  pole 


154  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

snapping  short,  he  pitched  headlong  overboard.  He 
climbed  back  with  blood  colouring  the  rain  in  his  face, 
and  found  another  pole.  Again,  approaching  the 
point,  the  four  men  on  the  end  of  the  tracking-line 
crawling  slowly  around  the  edge  of  a  steepish  bank, 
were  by  a  sudden  heave  of  the  Loseis  all  four  jerked 
into  the  water.  Instantly  picking  themselves  up, 
they  scrambled  ahead  with  their  line  through  the 
breakers.  Garth's  heart  warmed  over  the  half-fed, 
half-clad  boys.  Not  one  of  the  eight  faltered  for  an 
instant,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  superhuman  labours 
they  could  still  be  shouting  at  each  other. 

A  reef  ran  out  beyond  the  point;  and  how  they  ever 
got  over  this,  or  how  long  it  took,  none  could  have  told. 
By  that  time  they  were  merely  insensate  machines 
striving  automatically  against  a  mighty  inhuman 
adversary.  The  Loseis's  ribs  yielded  and  trembled 
under  the  renewed  blows  on  the  stones.  Dizzy  and 
blind  with  fatigue  they  struggled  ahead;  but  they 
would  never  have  made  it,  had  not  the  wind  hauled  still 
further  around.  Finally  a  wave  greater  than  any 
preceding  lifted  them  clear  of  the  stones,  and  dropped 
them  in  smooth  water  inside.  For  a  while,  unable  to 
realize  they  had  rounded  the  point,  they  continued 
to  struggle;  then  the  Loseis  gently  beached  herself. 
The  tracking  crew  scrambled  aboard,  and  all  hands 
dropped  where  they  stood  for  a  breathing  spell. 

Soon  after  the  storm  showed  signs  of  abating.  In 
the  end  it  ceased  almost  as  abruptly  as  it  had  begun: 


FIGHT    IN    THE    STORM 

and  the  moon  looked  wanly  forth,  as  if  ashamed  for  the 
recent  disturbances  aloft.  Garth,  thinking  of  Grylls 
and  Hooliam  lying  on  the  beach  around  the  point, 
consulted  with  Charley  what  had  better  be  done.  It 
took  them  about  three  seconds  to  arrive  at  a  decision. 

"It  is  between  eight  and  ten  miles  to  the  head  of 
the  lake,"  Charley  said. 

"Let  them  walk  it  then,"  said  Garth  coolly. 

Presently  the  same  breeze  resumed  its  gentle  course 
up  the  lake  as  if  there  had  been  no  such  thing  as  a 
storm.  Tired  as  they  were,  it  was  too  good  to  lose; 
and  with  hoisted  sail,  the  Loseis  forged  through  the 
rapidly  subsiding  waters,  with  Charley  at  the  helm. 
The  breed  boys  asked  no  questions.  Having  raised 
the  sail,  they  promptly  fell  asleep.  Hooliam  they  had 
little  regard  for  anyway;  and  Grylls  they  may  have 
supposed  was  still  somewhere  under  the  sail-cloths. 
In  three  hours  they  had  reached  Grier's  point,  the 
navigable  head  of  the  lake;  and  all  hands  slept  until 
long  after  sunrise. 

Garth  and  Natalie,  meeting  in  the  daylight,  ex- 
claimed each  at  the  appearance  of  the  other;  Natalie, 
with  remorseful  sympathy,  that  she  had  not  sooner 
learnt  the  extent  of  Garth's  bruises;  and  Garth  with 
delighted  wonder  at  the  freshness  of  her.  Natalie 
was  like  the  lake  in  the  early  sunshine;  neither  showed 
the  slightest  trace  of  a  storm  overnight. 

While  they  were  at  their  breakfast  on  the  shore,  a 
deplorable  figure,  ashen-cheeked  and  shamed,  came 


156  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

shuffling  out  of  the  bush.  The  eight  breeds,  as  one, 
instantly  set  up  a  merciless,  derisive  jeering.  It  was 
Hooliam.  He  bore  in  his  hands  a  little  bottle  and  a 
bank-bill.  Wretched  as  he  was,  his  eyes  glinted  with 
satisfaction  at  the  sight  of  the  boat  safe  and  sound  on 
the  shore.  He  went  to  Garth. 

"Nick  Grylls  in  the  bush,"  he  said,  dully  pointing 
back.  "Him  sick  bad.  Maybe  him  die.  Him  give 
five  dollar  for  drink  of  whiskey." 

Garth  filled  the  bottle  from  his  flask.  "  Put  up  your 
money,"  he  said  curtly. 


XII 

THE  NINETY-MILE  PORTAGE 

THE  Settlement  is  upward  of  three  miles  from 
Grier's  point.  Avoiding  the  houses  for  the 
present,  Garth  pitched  his  camp  outside, 
well  off  the  trail.  The  first  thing  they  learned  was 
that  the  Bishop  had  gone  on.  This  time  they  were  not 
surprised;  there  seemed  to  be  a  fatality  in  it.  The  old 
problem  confronted  Garth  anew. 

"I  think  you  should  wait  here,"  he  suggested  to 
Natalie;  "and  let  me  ride  on  for  you." 

Natalie,  as  she  always  did  when  this  question  was 
brought  up,  merely  looked  obstinate. 

"It  is  likely  we  will  miss  him  again  at  the  Crossing," 
Garth  went  on;  "and  I  have  learned  there  are  only  one 
or  two  cabins  there,  and  no  white  woman.  It  would 
be  difficult  for  you." 

Natalie's  silence  gave  him  no  encouragement. 

"But  here,"  he  urged,  "you  could  stay  with  the 
wife  of  the  inspector  of  the  mounted  police;  while  I  go 
on  and  bring  Mabyn  back  to  you.  I  do  not  think  you 
should  put  yourself  in  his  hands." 

"  He  would  not  come  with  you,"  she  said  evasively. 

157 


158  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I  promise  to  bring  him,"  said  Garth  determinedly; 
"if  he  is  alive." 

"No!"  she  said  with  manifest  agitation.  "That  is 
another  reason!" 

"What  is?"  he  asked  mystified. 

"I  —  I  could  not  have  any  trouble  between  you," 
she  said  in  a  low  tone. 

"But  I  promise  to  bring  him  safely,"  he  said 
doggedly. 

She  still  shook  her  head. 

"I  will  go  to  the  wife  of  the  inspector,"  said  Garth  — 
"a  woman  in  such  a  position  is  sure  to  be  the  right 
sort  —  and  I  will  explain  our  position  frankly.  She 
will  be  glad  to  take  you  in!" 

Natalie  shot  an  odd  glance  at  him.  "I  will  not  let 
you,"  she  said  quickly. 

"But  why?" 

"The  risk  of  the  humiliation  of  a  refusal  is  too 
great,"  she  said.  "  I  do  not  doubt  she  is  a  good  woman ; 
I'm  sure  she  rises  splendidly  to  all  the  demands  of  her 
position  up  here.  But  she  has  a  position  to  maintain, 
you  see;  no  doubt  she  is  bringing  up  girls.  And  me!"  — 
Natalie  turned  away  her  head  —  "  consider  how  extra- 
ordinary the  story  sounds!  Only  one  woman  in  a 
thousand  would  believe." 

Garth  turned  a  distressed  face  to  her.  "I  have 
not  taken  care  of  you  properly,"  he  cried  remorse- 
fully. 

Natalie  veiled  her  eyes;  and  her  hand  stole  to  her 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE         159 

breast.  "Let  us  not  talk  about  that!"  she  murmured 
unevenly. 

Garth   was   perplexed   and   silent. 

Natalie  recovered  herself  presently;  and  looked  at 
him  with  a  misty  shine  in  her  eyes.  "Why  do  you 
worry?"  she  asked.  "We're  a  thousand  times  better 
off  than  we  were  yesterday;  for  you  have  laid  our 
enemy  by  the  heels!  Why  mayn't  I  go  on  with  you 
just  the  same  as  before  ?  I  cannot  trust  any  one  but 
you!" 

How  was  Garth  to  resist  such  an  appeal  ?  Besides, 
there  was  nothing  else  to  do. 

Garth  might  have  lodged  a  complaint  against  Nick 
Grylls  at  the  barracks;  but  any  investigation  would 
have  seriously  delayed  their  journey;  and  a  greater 
reason  against  it  was  his  care  for  Natalie's  good  name. 
It  was  intolerable  to  him  that  the  dear  circumstances 
of  their  journey  together  should  be  made  the  subject 
of  the  common  gossip  of  the  North.  It  was  better  to 
let  those  who  saw  Natalie  on  the  trail  speculate  as  they 
chose,  rather  than  give  them  an  opportunity  to  put  their 
own  coarse  construction  upon  the  truth.  He  was  well 
assured  Nick  Grylls  would  say  nothing. 

For  the  same  reason,  he  decided  to  avoid  the  Settle- 
ment altogether.  The  two  of  them  remained  close  in 
camp;  and  Charley  was  dispatched  to  purchase  ponies 
and  saddles,  and  what  was  needful  to  replenish  their 
stores.  He  returned  with  all  they  required;  and 
during  the  afternoon  instructed  Garth  how  to  pack 


160  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

the  ponies  and  "throw"  the  immovable  diamond  hitch. 
Natalie  in  the  meantime,  constructed  a  divided  skirt  foi 
herself,  since  side-saddles  are  unknown  in  the  North. 

Their  route  now  lay  over  the  ninety-mile  portage  to 
Spirit  River  Crossing.  The  road,  Garth  learned, 
was  straight,  and,  for  the  North,  well-travelled.  There 
were  no  forks  or  cross-trails,  hence  no  possibility  of  their 
missing  the  way.  They  set  off  before  daybreak  next 
morning.  The  parting  with  Charley  was  a  wrench 
all  around:  but  Garth  was  firm  in  insisting  that  the 
boy  must  go  back,  and  put  up  his  hay.  In  the  easy- 
going North  it  is  only  too  easy  to  drop  one's  tools  and 
start  off  on  a  jaunt.  Charley  bade  them  an  abrupt 
good-bye;  and  bustled  away  to  hide  his  tears. 

In  the  mystical  gloom  which,  in  northern  latitudes, 
precedes  the  summer  dawn,  Garth  and  Natalie,  each 
leading  a  pack  pony,  rode  through  the  Settlement,  which 
straggled  for  several  miles  around  the  shore  of  Moose 
Bay,  a  wide,  shallow  arm  of  the  lake,  once  navigable, 
but  now  given  over  to  the  wild-fowl.  The  shacks  were 
infinitely  various;  for  in  a  land  where  every  man  builds 
for  himself,  a  house  quaintly  expresses  the  character 
of  its  owner.  But  one  thing  was  common  to  all;  no 
one  wastes  any  ornament  on  his  dwelling;  and  in  the 
luxuriant  greenness  of  the  northern  summer,  the  grim, 
solid  little  houses  were  a  reminder  of  the  coming  cold. 

Later  in  the  day  they  passed  the  long,  gradual  climb 
over  the  height  of  land  separating  the  great  watersheds 
of  the  Miwasa  and  the  Spirit.  On  the  other  side  they 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE         161 

came  to  a  flat  country  and  of  the  same  general  character 
all  the  way.  It  was  a  shining  day;  and,  being  young, 
they  forgot  their  cares  and  rode  gaily.  For  the  most 
part  the  trail  lay  in  a  straight  and  lofty  nave  of  aspen 
trees,  rearing  their  slender,  snowy  pillars  sixty,  eighty  - 
even  a  hundred  feet  aloft;  and  mingling  their  clusters 
of  nimble,  chattering  leaves  high  overhead  in  the  sun. 
There  was  nothing  gloomy  about  this  cathedral;  the 
sun  found  a  thousand  apertures  through  which  to 
launch  his  rays  against  the  white  pillars;  while  the 
green  and  mutable  roof  was  bathed  in  almost  intolerable 
radiance  —  it  was  a  temple  in  green  and  white,  Flora's 
colours. 

Occasionally  there  were  cloistered  openings;  sunny 
little  meadows  inclining  to  a  spring,  where  the  wild 
pea-vine,  plant  beloved  of  horses,  and  infallible  sign  of 
a  rich  soil,  grew  knee-deep.  Such  an  opening  they 
learned,  however  small,  was  quaintly  dignified  by  the 
natives  with  the  name  of  prairie. 

Their  ponies,  each  exhibiting  a  distinct  individuality, 
afforded  the  excuse  for  their  amusement  on  the  way. 
Garth's  mount,  that  a  previous  owner  had  christened 
"  Cyclops,"  and  who  was  tall  enough  and  bony  enough 
to  be  called  a  horse,  was,  like  themselves,  a  stranger  in 
the  bush,  and  his  face  offered  a  comical  study  in  anxiety, 
willingness  and  stupidity,  under  these  new  conditions. 
Natalie  rode  a  young  sorrel  rejoicing  in  the  name  of 
Caspar.  He  had  a  dull  eye,  a  long,  sheeplike  nose  and 
a  wagging  under  lip;  and  Natalie  vowed  he  was  half- 


162  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

witted.  He  would  not  ride  abreast;  but  insisted  on 
following;  and  he  screamed  with  terror,  if  for  an 
instant  he  lost  sight  of  the  other  horses. 

But  it  was  the  two  pack  horses  that  offered  the  most 
diverting  study  of  character.  When  they  left  the 
Settlement  behind,  Garth  cast  off  their  leaders.  In 
Emmy,  a  rotund  little  mare,  they  bad  secured  a  treasure. 
Emmy  had  an  indifferent  air  toward  them,  worthy 
of  a  breed;  but  unlike  a  breed,  she  was  thoroughly 
business-like.  Where  the  great  mudholes  of  unknown 
depth  blocked  the  trail,  and  they  must  strike  into  the 
bush,  she  required  no  guidance.  They  laughed  and 
admired,  to  see  her  stop,  looking  this  way  and  that, 
and  deliberately  pick  her  way  through,  always  with 
due  regard  to  the  height  and  breadth  of  the  pack  on 
her  back.  Emmy  declined  to  be  hurried;  she  had  an 
air  that  said  as  plainly  as  words,  if  they  didn't  like  her 
pace,  they  could  leave  her  behind,  and  be  hanged  to 
them! 

The  remaining  animal  was  Emmy's  son,  a  half-broken 
colt,  whose  only  virtue  was  that  he  would  not  stray 
very  far  from  his  mother.  Mistatimoosis  was  his  mouth- 
ful of  a  name.  He  forgot  his  pack  sometimes,  and  strik- 
ing it  full  tilt  against  a  tree,  would  be  knocked  endwise 
in  the  trail,  blinking  and  dismayed,  as  who  should  say, 
"Who  hit  me?"  The  thing  that  caused  them  the 
heartiest  laughter  was  to  see  Mistatimoosis's  endless 
attempts  to  steal  the  leadership  of  the  caravan  from 
his  mother.  It  was  the  only  thing  that  could  tempt 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE        163 

Emmy  out  of  her  sedate  pace.  On  a  fair  piece  of  road 
the  two  of  them  would  race  at  top  speed  for  half  a 
mile;  and  the  colt  was  continually  making  sly  detours 
into  the  bush  to  get  around  his  mother.  But  she  kept 
him  in  his  place  behind. 

The  riders  finding  they  could  safely  leave  the  pack- 
horses  to  follow,  had  ridden  ahead  to  spy  out  grass  and 
water  for  the  noon  spell.  They  were  walking  their 
horses  over  the  turf  bordering  the  trail,  when  suddenly 
from  among  the  trees  came  with  startling  distinctness 
the  sound  of  a  voice.  They  reined  up,  astonished.  It 
was  the  gentle,  ambling  voice  of  a  loquacious  old  man; 
and  his  conversation  there  in  the  wilderness  was  as 
quiet  and  intimate  as  chimney-corner  talk. 

"  I  should  say  half-past  eleven,"  they  heard.  "  When 
Mr.  Sun  sits  down  on  yonder  spruce  tree  we'll  make  a 
break.  So  work  your  jaws  good,  Mother,  old  girl;  and 
you  Buck,  my  dear,  stop  looking  around  like  a  fool 
and  get  busy!  Meanwhile,  we'll  pack  up  the  grub- 
box." 

Garth  and  Natalie  smiled  at  each  other.  There 
was  nothing  very  alarming  about  this. 

"Will  you  have  a  pipe  of  baccy  now,  Tom  Lillywhite  ? 
the  same  voice  resumed.  "Thanks,  old  man,  don't 
mind  if  I  do !  Is  there  any  cut  ?  No  ?  Well  shave 
it  close." 

There  was  a  pause  here,  while  the  speaker  presumably 
filled  his  pipe.  Then  some  one  drew  an  audible  sigh 
of  content;  and  a  kind  of  dialogue  took  place  — though 


164  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

there  was  but  the  one  voice  full  of  quaint  lifts  and  falls. 
Garth  and  Natalie,  smiling  broadly,  listened  without 
shame. 

"Ah!  a  fine  day,  a  bellyful  of  bacon,  and  a  pipeful 
of  tobacco !  —  would  you  change  with  a  moneyed  man, 
Tom  Lillywhite  ?" 

"Well  I  don't  know, sir!  Mebbe  he  don't  enjoy  his 
grub  as  much  as  us,  havin'  gen'ally  the  dyspepsy;  but 
how  about  the  winter,  old  sport,  when  we  don't  fetch 
up  no  stoppin'-house;  and  has  to  make  a  bed  in  the 
snow,  hey  ?  It's  then  a  flannel  bed-gown  looks  good 
to  old  bones;  let  alone  woolly  slippers  and  a  feather  bed ! 
Seems  I  wouldn't  kick  agin  the  job  of  takin'  care  o' 
money  in  the  winter  time!" 

"Ah!  g'long  with  you,  Tom  Lillywhite!  You'd  a 
been  dead  long  ago  if  you  had  money!  Swole  up  and 
bust  with  good  eatin',  y'old  epicoor!  You'd  be  havin' 
a  pig  killed  fresh  every  week  if  you  had  money!" 

"Say,  b'lieve  I  would  cut  some  dash  if  I  had  money! 
I'd  build  me  a  house  of  lumber  clear  through,  and  I'd 
paint  it  all  over,  paint  it  blue !  And  I'd  have  sawdust  on 
the  settin'-room  floor  and  a  brass  spittoon  in  every  cor- 
ner!  'Have  a  chair,'  I'd  say  to  stoppers,  not  lettin' 
on  I  was  puffed  up  at  all.  'Have  a  ten-cent  seegar. 
Don't  mention  it!  Don't  mention  it!  I  get  a  case 
full  in  every  Fall!'" 

Here  there  was   a  jolly  chuckle. 

Their  packhorses  joining  them  noisily,  the  dialogue 
cut  short. 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE          165 

"Someone  cominV  said  the  voice. 

Rounding  the  clump  of  bushes,  Garth  and  Natalie 
found  themselves  in  a  grassy  opening  in  the  bush.  An 
untraced  wagon  stood  in  the  centre;  and  two  horses 
browsed.  Immediately  under  the  bushes,  an  old  man 
sat  on  the  ground.  They  instinctively  looked  around 
for  the  other  persons  brought  into  his  conversation; 
but,  save  for  the  horses,  he  was  alone. 

At  the  sight  of  them  his  face  lighted  up  with  the 
pleased  naivete  of  a  child.  "How  do!  How  do!'*  he 
said  immediately,  without  getting  up  or  raising  his 
voice  at  all.  "My  horses  are  quiet.  They  won't 
tech  yours.  The  spring  is  down  there  at  the  foot  of 
the  spruce.  Just  blow  up  my  fire  a  little  and  it  will 
do  for  you."  He  seemed  to  take  them  entirely  for 
granted;  and  he  spoke  as  if  resuming  a  dropped  con- 
versation. 

There  was  something  very  troll-like  in  the  old 
figure,  squatting  on  the  ground;  in  his  bright,  glancing 
eyes,  in  his  incessant,  matter-of-fact  loquacity,  and  the 
slight,  peculiar  gesticulation,  with  which  he  illustrated 
his  talk.  He  was  all  of  a  colour;  high  moccasins, 
breeches,  shirt  and  cap  were  weathered  to  the  same 
grayish-brown  shade  —  and  that  much  the  colour  of  his 
skin.  Against  a  background  of  withered  grass,  only 
his  white  hair  would  have  been  visible.  He  was  like 
some  good-tempered,  little  familiar  of  the  forest. 

He  stared  hard  at  Natalie  in  his  bright-eyed,  imper- 
sonal way;  and  as  soon  as  Garth,  having  made  his  horses 


166  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

comfortable,  came  to  build  up  the  fire,  he  started  in 
with  his  questions. 

"Where  you  going?" 

"Spirit  River  Crossing,"  said  Garth. 

"Thinking  of  settling  ?" 

Garth  shook  his  head. 

"No,  you  don't  look  like  settlers.  Company  busi- 
ness, maybe  ?" 

"No,"  said  Garth. 

"  Police  ?     Gov'ment  survey  ?" 

"  Private  business,"  said  Garth  —  his  usual  answer 
to  the  question  direct. 

Baffled  inquisitiveness,  vice  of  the  kindest  natures, 
made  the  old  man's  face  ugly;  and  for  a  moment  he 
looked  like  a  wicked  troll.  For  a  little  while  he  pre- 
served an  offended  silence;  but  then,  probably  recollect- 
ing that  he  would  hear  the  whole  story  at  the  Settlement, 
or  simply  because  he  could  not  keep  still  any  longer, 
his  face  cleared,  and  he  resumed  his  engaging,  incon- 
sequential babble. 

"See  that  horse  over  there,  the  buckskin?  Best 
horse  I  ever  had!  True  buckskin!  Mark  the  zebra 
stripes  round  his  legs,  Miss;  and  the  black  stripe  on 
his  backbone.  You  can't  kill  a  buck;  he's  got  more 
lives  than  a  cat.  I  call  the  old  one  Mother;  she's 
good-natured,  she  is!" 

"You're  a  freighter,  I  see,"  remarked  Garth  as  a 
leader. 

"Sure   thing,    stranger!    Tom   Lillywhite    and    his 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE         167 

team  is  known  to  every  settler  in  the  country!  Been 
here  thirty-five  year;  and  always  on  the  move !  Never 
sleep  in  the  same  place  two  nights  going!  That  wagon 
there,  and  the  grub-box  is  my  home.  It's  a  variegated 
life!" 

Garth  bethought  himself  the  old  man  would  likely 
prove  a  valuable  source  of  information.  "You  must 
know  everybody  in  the  country!"  he  said,  feeling  his 
way. 

"None  better!"  said  Tom  Lillywhite,  bridling  with 
pride. 

"Are  there  many  white  men  at  the  Crossing?" 
asked  Garth. 

"Quite  a  crowd,"  said  the  old  man;  "eight  or  nine 
at  the  least.  There's  the  two  traders,  and  Mert 
Haywood  the  farmer,  and  old  Turner  the  J.  P.,  and 
the  priest,  and  the  English  missionary,  and  the  school- 
master; that's  seven.  Then  there's  old  man  Mackensie 
but  you  wouldn't  hardly  call  him  a  white  man  — 
smoked  too  deep,  and  squaw-ridden." 

"Is  that  all  ?"  said  Garth,  disappointed  of  his  quest. 

"Well,  there's  a  sort  of  another.  He  doesn't 
regularly  belong  to  the  Crossing  but  he  comes  into 
the  store  for  his  goods  once  or  twict  a  year.  I  forgot 
him  —  most  everybody's  forgot  him  now.  It's  Bert 
Mabyn." 

Garth  and  Natalie  pricked  up  their  ears;  and  their 
hearts  began  to  beat. 

"I   got   good   cause   to   know   Bert   Mabyn,   too," 


168  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

continued  old  Tom  innocently;  while  the  other  two 
listened  still  as  mice,  and  apprehensive  of  disclosures 
to  be  made.  "But  that's  all  past.  I  don't  bear  him 
no  ill-will  now.  He's  a  cur'us  chap,  a  little  teched  I 
guess;  but  as  pleasant  a  spoken  and  amoosin'  a  feller 
as  another  feller  could  want  to  have  with  him  on  the 
road!  Want  to  hear  about  him?" 

Garth  looked  at  Natalie  dubiously. 

"Yes,"  she  said  boldly. 

"  Well,  it  was  three  years  ago,"  began  Tom  Lillywhite, 
with  the  zest  of  the  true  story-teller.  "  The  Gov'ment 
sent  four  surveyin'  parties  in;  and  I  had  more'n  I  could 
do  freightin'  from  the  Settlement  to  the  different  camps. 
It  was  rough  haulin',  you  understand,  over  the  lines  they 
cut  through  the  bush,  straight  as  a  string  over  muskeg 
and  coulee.  You  couldn't  load  over  twenty  hundred- 
weight, and  sometimes  you  had  to  dump  half  of  that, 
and  go  back  for  it.  But  right  good  pay,  Gov'ment 
pay  is. 

"  I  needed  another  team  bad,  and  I  see  a  good  chance 
to  get  one  on  credit  from  Dick  Staley,  with  the  wagon 
and  all;  but  I  couldn't  get  no  white  men  to  drive  it  for 
me.  A  breed,  you  understand,  soon  kills  your  horses 
on  you ! 

"Well,  it  might  be  I  was  settin'  outside  the  French 
outfit,  talkin'  it  over,"  he  went  on  tranquilly,  little 
suspecting  with  what  meaning  his  story  was  charged 
for  the  two  strangers;  "when  along  comes  a  feller  and 
asts  for  me.  Say,  he  was  a  sight!  He  was  wearin' 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE         169 

black  clothes,  though  it  were  a  workin'-day;  and  all 
muddied  and  tore,  showin'  the  skin  under;  and  his  coat 
was  pinned  acrost  the  neck,  with  a  safety-pin  'cause 
he  hadn't  no  shirt.  He  had  a  Sunday  hat  on  too  — 
all  busted.  At  the  best  he  weren't  no  beauty;  his  teeth 
was  out." 

Natalie  shuddered. 

Garth,  suffering  for  her,  could  not  bear  to  meet  her 
eyes.  "  Perhaps  you'd  rather  hear  another  story," 
he  suggested. 

She  braced  herself.     "No!     Go  on!"  she  said. 

"Soon  as  I  see  him,  I  knew  who  he  was,"  continued 
old  Tom;  "  for  I  hear  the  fellers  talk  about  a  white  man 
that  took  passage  up  from  the  Landing  on  Phillippe's 
boat.  He  let  them  pull  him  all  the  way;  and  when  they 
got  to  Grier's  point,  he  hadn't  no  money.  They  took 
it  out  of  his  skin;  and  say,  when  a  white  man  is  beat  by 
a  breed  it's  good-day  to  him  up  here!  In  a  hundred 
years  he  couldn't  live  it  down. 

"Do  you  want  to  hire  a  man  ?'  says  he  mumbling- 
like;  he  was  too  far  down  to  meet  your  eye. 

"Hum!'  says  I  thoughtful,  'I  want  a  man,'  I  says. 

"You  should  have  heard  the  fellers  laugh  at  that! 
They  still  talk  about  it!  'Tom  Lillywhite,  he  wants 
a  man',  they  say.  It's  quite  a  word  in  the  country. 
'Tom  Lillywhite  wants  a  man!" 

The  old  freighter  went  off  into  an  interminable 
chuckling  over  the  antique  jest. 

It  was  inexpressibly  painful  to  Natalie  to  have  Garth 


170  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

there,  a  witness  to  her  humiliation;  but  she  would  not 
stop  the  story-teller,  nor  let  Garth  stop  him. 

"  However,  thinks  I,  you  can  sometimes  make  a  man 
out  of  unpromisin'  mater'al,"  he  resumed.  "And  in 
the  end  I  took  him  for  his  grub.  That  was  Bert  Mabyn. 
For  three  months  I  didn't  regret  it;  he  was  used  to 
horses,  and  was  first-rate  company  on  the  trail.  I  didn't 
give  him  no  money  —  said  he  didn't  want  none  — 
but  I  fed  him  up  good,  and  he  soon  got  fat  and  sassy. 
I  give  him  other  things  too.  I  couldn't  stand  for  the 
poor  wretch  a  shiverin'  by  my  fire  in  his  buttoned-up 
coat,  so  I  give  him  blankets;  and  afterward  an  outfit 
of  clothes. 

"What  do  you  think  was  the  first  thing  he  ever  ast 
me  for  ?  —  a  razor  and  a  glass !  And  every  day  after 
that  he  used  to  shave  hisself  —  every  day  mind  you,  if 
we  was  in  the  thickest  part  of  the  bush!  And  forever 
trimmin'  of  his  nails,  and  polishin'  'em  to  make  'em 
shine!  Wasn't  that  remarkable? 

"He  was  a  great  talker.  Nights  around  the  fire  he 
used  to  tell  me  all  about  himself.  Seems  he  comes 
of  real  high-toned  folks  outside;  but  went  to  the  bad 
young.  Said  he  come  West  three  years  before  that 
again,  full  of  good  resolutions,  which  lasted  just  so 
long  as  his  money.  Since  then  he'd  been  a  grub-rider 
'round  the  ranches,  and  dish-washer  in  hotels,  and, 
'scusin'  your  presence,  Miss,  worse  than  that  —  but  he 
hadn't  no  shame  about  it! 

"  I  liked  the  feller.     He  wasn't  no  good,  but  he  had 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE          171 

that  persuasive  way  with  him!  And  he  knew  so  much 
more  than  me!  You'd  think  a  man  'ud  feel  shame  to 
tell  such  stones  on  himself;  but  no!  he'd  make  out  as 
you  ought  to  like  him  for  bein'  such  a  good-for-nothing 
waster;  and  by  Gum!  in  the  end  you  did!  Never 
see  such  a  feller! 

"Well,  all  summer  we  travelled,  me  and  him;  him 
always  behind  me  on  the  trail;  and  I  hadn't  any  fault 
to  find.  But  come  September  I  had  a  rush  lot  up  to 
Whitefish  Lake;  and  at  the  same  time  there  was  some 
stuff  wanted  in  a  hurry  in  Pentland's  camp  over  on 
the  Great  Smoky.  So  for  the  first  time  we  divided. 
I  sent  him  to  Pentland's  over  this  very  trail! 

"  I  got  back  long  before  he  did.  After  a  while  word 
come  from  Pentland,  where  in  thunder  were  the  goods  ? 
It  was  after  the  first  snow  before  Mabyn  come  back. 
He  was  a  wreck  and  the  horses  were  just  alive,  and  no 
more.  He  told  a  story  how  his  wagon  capsized  in  the 
river,  and  he  lost  everything;  but  the  whiskey  gave 
the  lie  to  that.  By  and  by  we  found  he'd  buried  a  keg 
of  it,  outside  the  Settlement.  In  the  Spring  when  it 
was  too  late  to  do  anything,  it  all  come  out  through  a 
breed.  Seems  away  up  by  Fort  St.  Pierre,  he  met  one 
of  them  crooked  traders,  that  sometimes  sneaks  acrost 
the  mountains;  and  he  sold  him  the  stuff  for  a  keg  of 
rot-gut.  When  I  hear  that  I  was  thankful  he  brought 
back  the  horses  at  all.  The  business  near  busted  me; 
for  I  had  to  make  good  three  hundred  worth  of  groceries 
to  Pentland;  and  sacrificed  the  second  team,  'count 


172  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

of  the  shape  they  were  in.  That  was  what  Bert  Mabyn 
cost  me!" 

"Didn't  you  have  him  arrested?"  asked  Garth 
indignantly. 

Tom  shrugged.  "What  were  the  use  of  that? 
The  inspector  was  after  me  to  prosecute;  but  it  was 
too  late  to  get  my  money  back,  and  put  flesh  on  the 
horses — besides,  I  was  too  busy.  Of  course,  it  weren't 
just  the  same  as  robbin'  me  in  cold  blood,"  he  added 
in  the  tone  of  one  who  must  be  fair;  "for  it  were  the 
whiskey,  you  see." 

Natalie  kept  her  face  averted  from  the  old  man. 
"And  what  has  become  of  this  man  since  ?"  she  asked, 
steadily  controlling  her  voice. 

"Oh,  he  hung  around  the  Settlement,  sponging 
on  one  and  another  till  he  were  kicked  out;  then  he 
come  down  to  the  breeds.  It  was  a  great  honour  for 
them  to  have  a  white  man  of  any  kind  runnin'  after 
them,  you  see,  so  they  put  up  with  him.  Then  he 
drifted  West,  up  Ostachegan  way;  and  lately,  I  under- 
stand, he's  taken  up  a  deserted  shack  he  found  on 
Clearwater  Lake,  away  up  on  the  bench  there,  northwest 
of  the  Spirit.  There  they  tell  me  he  lives  all  alone; 
but  no  one's  seen  him  in  a  dog's  age." 

Garth  and  Natalie  avoided  everything  beyond  the 
merest  commonplaces  to  each  other  until  they  were 
alone;  and  even  after  Tom  Lillywhite,  bidding  them 
farewell,  had  driven  off,  chirping  to  his  horses,  it  was 


NINETY-MILE    PORTAGE          173 

a  long  time  before  either  had  the  courage  to  make  a 
move  toward  overcoming  the  ghastly  constraint  his 
story  had  caused  between  them. 

"Haven't  we  heard  enough  ?"  said  Garth  quietly  at 
last.  "Need  you  go  any  further?" 

Natalie  in  the  interim  had  had  time  to  pass  her 
emotional  crisis.  She  was  very  pale,  and  her  eyes  were 
big;  but  she  was  now  calmer  than  he.  "I  have  heard 
enough,  surely,"  she  said;  "but  after  coming  all  this 
way  it  would  seem  cowardly,  wouldn't  it,  to  be  satisfied 
with  hearsay  evidence  ?  —  and  there  is  still  my  promise 
to  his  mother." 

Her  tone  impressed  Garth  with  the  utter  hopelessness 
of  trying  to  dissuade  her.  "  But  how  can  I  let  you 
expose  yourself  to  —  to  what  we  may  find!"  he  groaned. 

"I  am  not  a  child,"  said  Natalie  quietly.  "And  I 
shall  not  quail  at  the  mere  sight  of  ugliness."  She 
turned  away  from  him.  "Besides,"  she  added  in  a 
lower  tone,  "you  know  the  worst  now;  and  that  was 
the  hardest  thing  to  bear  —  your  hearing  it  I  mean. 
No,"  she  went  on,  facing  him  again,  wistfully  and 
valorously;  "it  promises  to  be  very  ugly,  but  then  I 
undertook  it,  you  see.  I  am  going  on." 

They  could  not  bear  to  meet  each  other's  eyes;  and 
miserably  turning  their  backs,  affected  to  busy  them- 
selves with  small  tasks.  Natalie,  quivering  with  the 
shame  of  the  lash  all  unwittingly  applied  by  old  Tom, 
longed  with  an  inexpressible  longing  to  have  Garth 
with  a  hint  or  a  look  assure  her  that  he  loved  her,  and 


174  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

so,  thrusting  the  wretch  Mabyn  out  of  their  charmed 
circle,  reinstate  her  in  her  self-respect.  But  poor 
Garth  in  his  clumsy,  masculine  delicacy  thought  that 
to  obtrude  himself  at  such  a  moment  would  only  hurt  her 
more.  He  kept  silent,  and  he  averted  his  eyes,  and 
Natalie,  misunderstanding,  tasted  the  very  dregs  of 
shame. 


XIII 

THE  NEWLY-MARRIED  PAIR 

OUT  on  the  bosom  of  that  infinite  prairie,  which 
rolls  its  unmeasured  miles  north  and  west 
of  the  Spirit  River,  a  last  place  of  mystery 
and  dreams,  still  unharnessed  by  the  geographers, 
and  reluctantly  written  down  "unexplored"  on  their 
maps,  two  human  figures  were  riding  slowly,  with 
their  horses'  heads  turned  away  from  the  last  habita- 
tions of  men.  The  prairie  undulated  about  them  like 
a  sea  congealed  in  motion  —  but  seemingly  vaster  than 
the  sea;  for  at  sea  the  horizon  is  ever  near  at  hand; 
while  here  the  very  unevenness  of  the  ground  marked, 
and  fixed,  and  opened  up  the  awful  distances.  The 
grass  was  short,  rich  and  browned  by  the  summer 
sun;  and  it  mantled  the  distant  rounds  and  hollows 
with  the  changing  lights  of  beaver  fur.  The  only 
breaks  in  its  expanse  were  here  and  there,  springing 
in  the  sheltered  hollows,  coppices  or  bluffs  of  slender 
poplar  saplings,  with  crowding  stems,  as  close  and  even 
as  hair.  The  leaves  were  yellowed  by  the  first  frosts. 
The  man  rode  ahead,  slouching  on  the  back  of  his 
wretched  cayuse,  with  eyes  blank  alike  of  inward 


176  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

thought  or  outward  observation.  He  was  not  yet 
forty  years  old,  but  bore  the  cast  of  premature  decay, 
more  aged  than  age.  What  showed  of  his  hair  beneath 
his  hat  was  sparse  and  faded;  and  of  his  visible  teeth  he 
had  no  more  than  a  perishing  stump  or  two  left  in  his 
jaws.  His  discontented,  satiated,  exhausted  mien,  had 
a  strange  look  there  in  the  fresh  and  potent  wilderness. 

The  girl  who  followed  with  a  travoise  dragging  at 
her  pony's  heels,  was,  on  the  other  hand,  in  harmony 
with  the  land.  Of  the  extremes  to  which  the  breeds 
run  in  looks,  she  was  of  the  rare  beauties  of  that  strange 
race.  Her  features  were  moulded  in  a  delicate,  definite 
harmony  that  would  have  marked  her  out  in  any  assem- 
blage of  beauty;  and  the  spirit  of  beauty  was  there  too. 
There  were  actually  pride  and  dignity  under  the  arched 
brows  —  so  capricious  is  Nature  in  shaping  her  wilder 
daughters  —  and  in  the  deep  soft  eyes  brooded,  even 
when'  she  was  happiest,  a  heart-disquieting  quality  of 
wistfulness.  She  was  happy  now;  and  ever  and  anon 
she  raised  her  eyes  to  the  slouching  back  of  the  man 
riding  ahead  with  a  look  of  passionate  abandon  in 
which  there  was  nothing  civilized  at  all.  She  was 
slenderer  than  the  run  of  brown  maidens,  and  her 
clumsy  print  dress  could  not  hide  the  girlish,  perfect 
contour  of  her  shoulders.  In  her  dusky  cheeks  there 
glowed  a  tinge  of  deep  rose;  testimony  to  the  lingering 
influence  of  the  white  blood  in  her  veins. 

Topping  a  rise,  the  man  paused  for  her  to  overtake 
him. 


THE    NEWLY-MARRIED  177 

"Here  we  are,  Rina,"  he  said  indifferently.  His 
voice  was  oddly  cracked.  His  manner  toward  her 
expressed  a  good-humoured  tolerance.  His  eyes  ap- 
proved her  casually;  inner  tenderness  there  was  none. 

The  girl  apparently  was  sensible  of  no  lack  —  but  the 
breeds  do  not  bring  up  their  daughters  to  expect  tender- 
ness. Her  eyes  sparkled.  "  How  pretty  it  is,  'Erbe't!" 
she  breathed.  "Ver'  moch  good  land!'*  She  spoke 
the  pretty,  clipped  English  of  the  convent  school. 

At  their  feet  lay  a  shallow  valley,  hidden  close  until 
the  very  moment  of  stumbling  upon  it.  In  it  was  a 
sparkling  slough  but  large  enough  to  be  dignified  with 
the  name  of  lake.  It  was  something  the  shape  of  a 
gourd,  with  a  long  end  that  curved  out  of  sight  below, 
a  very  girdle  of  blue  velvet  binding  the  waists  of  the 
brown  hills.  At  their  left  the  shores  of  the  wider  part 
of  the  lake,  the  bulb  of  the  gourd,  were,  in  unexpected 
contrast  to  the  bareness  of  the  uplands,  heavily  wooded 
with  great  cottonwood  trees  and  spruce.  A  grassy 
islet  ringed  with  willows  seemed  to  be  moored  here  like 
the  barge  of  some  woodland  princess.  Away  beyond, 
elevated  on  a  grassy  terrace  at  the  head  of  the  lake, 
and  overlooking  its  whole  expanse,  stood  a  tiny  weather- 
beaten  shack,  startlingly  conspicuous  in  that  great 
expanse  of  untouched  nature.  Sheltered  by  the  hills 
from  the  howling  blasts  of  the  prairie  above;  and  with 
wood,  water  and  unlimited  game  at  its  door,  it  was 
a  wholly  desirable  situation  for  a  Northern  dwelling  — 
but  it  was  seventy-five  miles  off  the  trail. 


178  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  girl  brought  her  pony  alongside  Mabyn's;  and 
slipped  her  hand  into  his.  "It  is  jus'  right!"  she 
whispered.  "We  will  be  ver'  happy,  'Erbe't!" 

He  let  her  hand  fall  carelessly.  "It's  damn  lone- 
some!" he  grumbled. 

All  the  shy  boldness  of  an  enamoured  girl  peeped  out 
of  Rina's  eyes,  as  she  whispered:  "I'm  glad  it's  lone- 
some! I  don'  want  nobody  to  come  —  but  you!" 

Mabyn  was  unimpressed.  He  struck  the  ribs  of 
his  tired  pony  with  his  heels.  "Come  on,"  he  said; 
and  led  the  way  down  the  incline. 

Later,  reaching  the  shack,  on  the  threshold  Rina 
spread  out  her  arms  with  an  unconscious  gesture. 
"This  is  my  home!"  she  cried.  "I  will  jus'  love  it!" 

Mabyn  looking  around  at  the  gaping  walls,  the  empty 
panes  and  the  foul  litter,  laughed  jeeringly  at  her 
simplicity. 

The  girl  was  too  happy  to  feel  the  sting.  "I  will 
fix  it!"  she  said  stoutly.  "I  will  mak'  it  like  an  outside 
house.  It  will  be  as  nice  than  the  priest's  parlour  in 
the  Settlement!"  She  clasped  her  hands  against  her 
breast  in  the  intensity  of  her  eagerness.  "Jus'  you 
wait,  'Erbe't!  Some  day  I  will  have  white  curtains  in 
the  window!  and  a  piece  of  carpet  on  the  floor!  and  a 
holy  picture  on  the  wall !  Oh !  I  will  work  so  hard ! " 

"Get  about  the  supper,  Rina,"  said  Mabyn  shortly. 

She  prepared  the  meal  at  the  rough  mud  fireplace 
built  across  the  corner  of  the  shack,  for  they  had  no 
stove;  and  they  ate  squatting  on  the  floor  in  the  breed 


THE    NEWLY-MARRIED  179 

fashion,  for  neither  was  there  a  table.  Afterward 
Mabyn  dragged  the  bench  —  a  relic  of  the  former 
tenant,  and  sole  article  of  furniture  they  possessed  — 
outside  the  door;  and  sat  upon  it,  smoking,  yawning, 
looking  across  the  lake  with  lack-lustre  eyes. 

Rina  having  redd  up  the  shack,  came  to  the  doorway, 
where  she  stood  looking  at  him  wistfully.  Finally  she 
hovered  toward  him  and  retreated;  and  her  hands 
stole  to  her  breast.  She  was  longing  mightily  to  sit 
beside  him;  but  she  did  not  dare.  In  a  breed's  wife 
it  would  have  been  highly  presumptuous,  and  would 
very  likely  have  been  rewarded  with  a  blow;  but  Rina 
had  a  dim  notion  that  a  white  man's  wife  had  the  right 
to  sit  beside  him  —  still  she  was  afraid.  In  the  end 
her  desire  overcame  her  fears;  drifting  hither  and 
thither  toward  the  bench  like  a  frond  of  thistledown, 
she  finally  alighted  on  the  edge,  and  her  cheek  dropped 
on  his  shoulder.  The  act  must  have  been  subtly 
suggested  by  the  tincture  of  white  blood  in  her  veins, 
for  it  is  not  a  redskin  attitude.  The  man  neither 
repulsed  nor  welcomed  her. 

"Erbe't,"  she  whispered,  "my  head  is  so  full  of 
things  I  am  near  crazy  wit'  thoughts !  And  my  tongue 
is  in  a  snare;  I  cannot  speak  at  all!" 

Mabyn's  only  comment  was  a  sort  of  grunt,  which 
meant  anything  —  or  nothing. 

Rina  was  encouraged  to  creep  a  little  closer.  "Oh, 
'Erbe't,  I  love  you!"  she  whispered.  "I  am  loving 
you  every  minute!  I  so  glad  you  marry  me,  'Erbe't!" 


180  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  man  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth,  and  uttered 
his  brief,  jeering  cackle  of  laughter.  "That  wasn't 
altogether  a  matter  of  choice,  my  girl,"  he  said.  "It 
was  a  little  preliminary  insisted  on  by  your  father  and 
mother." 

Rina  hardly  took  the  sense  of  this.  "But  you  do 
love  me,  'Erbe't?  jus'  a  little?"  she  pleaded. 

"You're  all  right,  Rina,"  he  said  patronizingly.  "I 
never  was  one  to  make  much  of  a  fuss  about  a 
woman." 

Little  by  little  gathering  courage,  she  began  to  pour 
out  her  soul  for  the  man  she  loved.  "I  never  love  any 
man  but  you,  'Erbe't,"  so  ran  the  naive  confession; 
"the  breed  boys,  they  always  come  aroun'  and  show 
off.  I  not  lak  them.  They  foolish  and  dirty;  they  eat 
same  lak  cocouche;  and  they  know  not'ing;  but  they 
think  themself  so  fine.  They  mak'  me  sick!  My 
mot'er  say  to  me;  'You  eighteen  year  old,  Rina;  w'en 
you  go  to  marry?'  I  say  to  my  mot'er,  'I  never 
marry  a  pig-man;  I  want  to  stay  to  you.' ' 

Her  voice  changed,  borrowing  the  soft,  passionate 
music  of  the  nightingale  she  had  never  heard.  "Then 
barn-bye  w'en  the  spring  come,  an'  we  pitch  by  Ostache- 
gan  creek,  an'  the  crocus  flowers  are  coming  up  on 
Sah-ko-da-tah  prairie  so  many  as  stars  in  the  sky  - 
then  you  come  by  our  camp,  'Erbe't;  and  you  so  poor 
an'  sick  I  feel  ver'  bad  for  you!  An'  you  talk  so  pretty, 
and  know  so  much,  my  heart  him  fly  straight  out  of 
my  breast  like  a  bird,  Erbe't;  an'  perch  on  your 


THE    NEWLY-MARRIED  181 

shoulder;  an'  him  go  everywhere  you  go;  an'  I  got  no 
heart  anymore.  I  empty lak  a  nest  in  the  snow-time! 

"So  you  stay  to  us,"  she  went  on,  "and  I  mad  to  see 
all  the  men  mock  at  you,  an'  treat  you  bad,  an'  mak' 
you  eat  after  all  have  finished,  and  mak'  you  lie  outside 
the  fire.  They  t'ink  themself  better  than  a  white  man, 
hey!  All  the  time  you  ask  me  to  come  away  from  the 
camp  with  you;  an'  you  t'ink  I  don'  want  to  come, 
but  you  don'  know.  Many,  many  nights  I  not  sleep, 
'Erbe't.  I  want  so  bad  to  come  to  the  ot'er  side  of 
the  tepee  where  you  are,  but  I  hold  to  my  mot'er's 
blanket!" 

The  man  looked  up.  "Hm!  You  did,  eh?"  he 
exclaimed.  "If  I  had  known!" 

"  But  I  t'ink  I  mos'  not  let  you  see  I  love  you.  So 
I  mak'  show  I  don'  care  at  all.  An'  it  hurt  me  ver' 
moch  in  my  empty  breast,  'Erbe't.  But  why  I  do  it  ? 
—  I  want  you  so  to  marry  me!  an'  barn-bye  you  marry 
me;  an'  I  so  scare  and  happy  lak  I  was  lose  my  head! 
Four  days  I  married  now!  You  not  mad  at  me,  'Erbe't, 
'cause  I  mak'  you  marry  me?" 

He  shrugged.     "What's  the  diff ?"  he  said  carelessly. 

Rina  dared  to  let  her  arm  creep  around  his  shoulders. 
"But  barn-bye  you  ver'  glad  you  marry  me,"  she 
whispered.  "For  I  mak'  me  ver'  nice!  I  white 
woman  now.  I  go  no  more  to  the  breeds.  I  spik 
only  Engliss  now;  we  will  sit  in  chairs  and  eat  pretty 
with  knives  and  forks;  and  always  say  good  morning 
and  good  night,  lak  white  people.  'Erbe't,  you  will 


182  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

teach  me  all  the  ways  of  white  people,  lak  they  do 
outside  ?  I  want  so  bad  to  be  ver'  nice,  jus'  lak  white 
woman!" 

"Sure!"  said  Mabyn  vaguely. 

Rina  was  silent  for  a  while.  "Erbe't,"  she  said  at 
last,  "you  never  tell  me  about  your  folks;  about  your 
house  where  you  live  outside.  Please  tell  me." 

He  muttered,  and  writhed  uncomfortably  on  the 
bench.  "What's  the  use  of  bringing  that  up?"  he 
said  at  last.  "You  wouldn't  understand  if  I  tried  to 
tell  you." 

"Loving  makes  me  onderstan'  moch,"  she  softly 
pleaded. 

He  was  silent. 

"Have  you  any  sisters  outside,  'Erbe't?"  she  gently 
persisted. 

"No,"  he  said. 

"Your  mot'er,  she  is  not  dead?" 

"No." 

"She  mos'  be  ver'  nice,  I  think." 

"She's  a  lady!"  he  blurted  out. 

Rina  nodded  wisely.  "I  know  what  that  is,"  she 
said.  "A  lady  is  a  ver'  nice  woman."  Her  voice 
dropped  very  low.  "'Erbe't,"  she  whispered,  with 
infinite,  passionate  desire  in  her  voice  —  stroking  his 
cheek,  "will  you  teach  me  to  be  a  lady?" 

He  laughed.  "You  'tend  to  your  work  about  the 
place,"  he  said,  "and  don't  bother  your  head  over  that." 

Tears  slowly  welled  up  in  Rina's  eyes,  and  stole  one 


THE    NEWLY-MARRIED  183 

after  another  down  her  cheeks.  "I  do  so  ver*  moch 
want  to  be  a  lady,"  she  whispered,  more  to  herself 
than  to  him.  He  did  not  know  she  wept,  she  was  so 

Still. 

By  and  by  she  raised  her  head,  and  shook  the  tears 
away.  "To-morrow,  I  will  begin  to  fix  things  nice 
for  you,  'Erbe't,"  she  said  with  renewed,  soft  tenderness. 

He  vented  his  hopeless,  jeering  chuckle.  "Nice!" 
he  echoed.  "My  God,  Rina!  What  are  you  going 
to  begin  on  ?" 

"I  show  you!"  she  said  eagerly.  "I  have  a  whole 
tanned  buckskin  my  father  give  to  me  when  I  go 
•'way;  and  my  mot'er,  she  give  silk,  all  colours.  I  make 
seven,  eight,  maybe  ten  pairs  of  glove,  with  cuffs;  and 
work  them  with  silk  flowers!  No  woman  can  work 
so  good  with  silk  than  me!  I  work  all  the  time  there 
is  light;  and  when  all  are  done  I  get  forty  dollar  in  trade 
at  the  store!  And  I  buy  cartridges  and  traps  and  grub, 
and  another  skin  to  work.  Not  any  more  will  you 
be  poor,  'Erbe't!" 

"Lord!  How  will  we  ever  drag  out  the  winter  in 
this  God-forsaken  spot!"  he  grumbled  —  unconsciously 
shifting  the  initiative  to  her  shoulders. 

Her  arm  tightened  about  him.  "We  will  do  fine!" 
she  said  eagerly.  "We  will  mak'  moch  money.  There 
is  no  plentier  place  for  fur;  and  we  will  have  it  all!  Me, 
I  can  set  traps  and  snares  as  good  as  Michel  Whitebear. 
Maybe  I  will  get  a  silver  fox,  or  a  black  one.  I  know 
the  fox!  In  the  spring  we  will  have  plenty  good  credit 


184  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

at  the  store.  We  can  travel  to  the  Settlement  then,  and 
you  will  not  be  lonesome.  There  are  many  white  men. 
We  could  stay  in  the  Settlement  all  summer;  and  I  would 
cook  meals  for  the  freighters  and  the  travellers  and  mak' 
more  money.  I  am  a  good  worker,  'Erbe't.  Every- 
body say  so!" 

Mabyn  partly  roused  himself.  "That's  not  a  bad 
idea,"  he  said.  "Under  cover  of  the  restaurant,  it 
would  be  dead  easy  to  run  in  a  little  whiskey  over  the 
Berry  Mountain  trail,  and  make  a  pot  of  money. 
Fifty  cents  a  drink,  by  Gad!" 

Rina  drew  away  from  him.  "  I  will  not  help  you  do 
that,  'Erbe't,"  she  said  quietly. 

"You'll  do  what  I  tell  you  to  do,"  he  said  coolly. 

Rina  remained  silent.  Her  breast  heaved  and 
trembled  with  terror  at  her  own  temerity  in  defying 
her  husband  —  but  there  were  both  firmness  and 
reproach  in  her  attitude.  It  was  more  than  the  weak 
Mabyn  could  bear  for  long  in  silence. 

"Good  God!"  he  burst  out.  "Have  I  married  a 
breed  to  tell  me  what  I  ought  to  do,  and  ought  not  to  do  ? 
Better  learn  once  for  all,  my  girl,  that  I'm  the  head  of 
this  outfit,  and  I  mean  to  do  whatever  I  damned  please!" 

Rina  sat  gripping  her  hands  together  in  her  lap  to 
control  their  trembling.  Her  head  was  bowed.  "  I  am 
only  a  breed  girl,"  she  said.  "You  are  my  'osban',  and 
you  can  beat  me,  and  you  can  kill  me,  but  I  would  not 
cry  out,  or  think  bad  of  you.  But  you  cannot  mak'  me 
help  you  to  mak'  a  pig  of  you  again.  I  will  mak'  you  to 


THE    NEWLY-MARRIED  185 

have  good  credit,  an'  to  be  a  rich  and  strong  man,  an* 
you  can  go  back  and  spit  on  the  poor  breeds  that  mock 
you  before.  I  will  not  help  you  trade  in  whiskey; 
whiskey  mak'  you  poor,  an'  sick,  an'  crazy!" 

Mabyn  got  up.  "God!  Women  are  all  alike, 
white  or  brown!"  he  muttered  indifferently.  "Come  on 
in." 

But  he  had  yielded  the  point.  The  regeneration  of 
Herbert  Mabyn  had  been  undertaken. 


XIV 

THE  LAST  STAGE 

THE  hours  of  the  afternoon  that  followed  their 
encounter  with  Tom  Lillywhite  were  long 
and  heavy  ones  for  Natalie  and  Garth.  A 
haggard  misunderstanding  rode  between  them  on  the 
trail.  Denied  the  all-explaining,  all-healing  touch  of 
hands  —  or  lips,  the  unreasonable  despair  of  lovers 
seized  on  each;  and  the  sunny  way  was  plunged  in 
murk.  They  rode,  and  camped,  and  ate  their  supper 
in  silence;  and  in  silence  they  turned  in  for  the  night. 
But  there  was  little  sleep  for  either;  they  lay  apart, 
each  nursing  a  burden  of  unhappiness;  unable  to  say 
now  what  it  was  all  about,  only  dreadfully  conscious 
that  they  were  divided. 

As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see,  a  pale  and 
heavy-lidded  Natalie  crept  noiselessly  out  of  her  tent. 
In  front  of  the  door  she  saw  Garth  on  his  knees  pre- 
paring to  build  a  fire;  but  the  hand  that  held  the 
hatchet-helve  had  dropped  nervelessly  to  the  ground; 
and  his  eyes,  fixed  and  staring  in  the  torpor  of  miser- 
ableness,  had  forgotten  what  he  had  set  out  to  do. 
At  the  sight,  a  rapturous  peace  came  back  to  Natalie's 

186 


THE    LAST    STAGE  187 

harried  soul;  for,  she  thought,  if  he  were  so  unhappy 
as  that,  he  must  love  her  in  spite  of  all.  And  Garth, 
looking  up,  saw  the  tenderness  break  in  her  weary 
face,  and  he  understood  it  all  too.  The  forest  sprang 
into  leaf  again  for  them;  and  presently  the  sun  came 
gaily  up.  They  became  as  wildly  and  unreasonably 
happy  as  they  had  just  been  miserable;  and  not  a 
word  was  exchanged  either  way.  It  was  not  necessary. 
That  they  did  not  fling  themselves  into  each  other's 
arms  at  that  moment,  must  surely  be  written  down  to 
their  credit  somewhere. 

They  made  but  a  leisurely  progress  this  day  and 
the  next.  The  labour  of  the  journey  was  greater 
than  at  any  time  hitherto,  for  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  routine  of  making  and  breaking  camp 
twice  a  day,  Garth  had  now  the  four  horses  to  look 
after.  Catching  them  was  a  task  of  uncertain 
duration,  even  though  they  were  turned  out  hobbled; 
in  particular,  the  exasperating  Timoosis  developed 
the  proficiency  of  a  very  circus  horse,  in  walking 
on  his  hind  legs.  And  once  caught,  there  was 
all  the  business  of  saddling,  packing  and  drawing 
the  hitch. 

Besides,  there  was  that  in  both  their  hearts  which 
delayed  them  even  more.  No  ardently  desired  goal 
awaited  them  at  the  end  of  this  journey;  on  the  con- 
trary they  dreaded  what  they  were  to  find.  The  last 
few  miles  of  the  way  together,  before  the  inevitable 
came  between  them,  was  therefore  very  dear;  and  it 


188  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

became  ever  easier  to  say  "Let's  camp!"  and  harder 
to  say  "Let's  move!" 

Their  boisterous  jollity  on  the  trail  gave  place  to 
much  quiet  happiness;  and  there  was  ceaseless  friendly 
contention,  where  Garth's  every  thought  was  for 
Natalie;  and  hers  for  him.  Each  was  on  his  mettle 
to  be  worthy  of  the  other's  best.  Above  all  they  avoided 
the  insidious  danger  of  contact;  but  inevitably  some- 
times in  the  business  of  the  camp,  their  hands  did  meet 
-  and  each  to  himself  stored  up  and  told  over  the 
events  like  secret  treasures.  In  every  labour  Natalie 
insisted  on  taking  her  share  like  a  man;  and  Garth 
never  ceasing  to  upbraid  her,  yet  loved  her  for  it  pro- 
digiously. 

Day  by  day,  now,  the  leaves  of  the  more  exposed  trees 
were  yellowing;  and  on  the  second  night  of  their 
journey  across  the  portage,  the  first  heavy  frost  of  the 
season  descended.  Garth,  under  his  sail-cloth  at  the 
door  of  the  tent,  awoke  covered  with  rime. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  third  day  they  had  their 
never-to-be-forgotten  first  glimpse  of  the  mighty 
Spirit,  the  dream  river  of  the  North,  whose  name  evokes 
the  thought  of  a  garden  in  a  bleak  land.  The  unvary- 
ing flatness  of  the  portage  with  its  standing  pools, 
and  the  interminable  lofty  wood  that  had  hemmed 
them  in  for  three  days,  had  given  them  the  sense  of 
travelling  on  the  bottom  of  the  world,  and  that  some- 
where ahead  must  be  a  hill  to  climb.  What  then  was 
their  astonishment  this  afternoon,  when,  without  warn- 


THE    LAST    STAGE  189 

ing,  they  emerged  from  among  the  trees  on  an  abrupt 
grassy  terrace,  and  beheld  the  great  river  lying  nearly 
a  thousand  feet  below. 

It  was  a  view  inimitably  gorgeous  and  sublime. 
Coming  so  suddenly  upon  it  they  caught  their  breaths 
and  gazed  in  silence;  for  there  was  nothing  fitting  to 
say.  The  high  point  on  which  they  stood  overlooked 
a  deep  and  narrow  gorge  at  their  left,  through  which 
a  little  river  fell  to  the  great  stream;  and  across  this 
they  could  look  up  the  vast  trough  for  miles.  In  the 
distance  the  river  seemed  to  rise,  until  one  would  say 
it  issued  molten  from  the  low-hung  sun  itself. 

It  had  an  individual  and  peculiar  look,  like  no 
watercourse  they  had  seen.  Its  course  drew  a  sharp 
line  between  the  wooded  country  and  the  prairie. 
Like  a  figure  dressed  in  motley,  the  steep  southern 
bank  was  everywhere  dark  and  wooded,  while  the 
other  side,  sweeping  up  in  countless  fantastic  knolls 
and  terraces,  was  bare,  except  for  the  brown  grass, 
and  patches  of  scrub-like  hair  in  the  hollows.  Far 
back  from  the  opposite  rim  of  the  vast  trough  swept 
the  unmeasured  prairie,  as  flat,  in  the  whole  prospect, 
as  the  country  they  had  lately  traversed. 

It  was  the  wealth  of  colour  that  most  of  all  bewitched 
their  eyes.  The  river  itself  was  of  an  odd,  insistent 
green  —  emerald  tinged  with  milk;  the  islands  on  its 
bosom  hung  out  the  rich  bottle-green  of  spruce;  the 
grass  on  the  north  bank  was  beaver-brown;  the  wild- 
rose  scrub  glowed  blood-crimson  in  the  hollows;  and 


190  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

the  aspen  bluffs,  touched  with  frost,  were  as  yellow  as 
saffron.  The  wild  and  beautiful  panorama  was  made 
complete  in  their  eyes  by  a  great  golden  eagle  perched 
on  the  brink  of  the  immediate  foreground  and,  like 
themselves,  gazing  over.  Though  but  a  hundred  yards 
or  so  distant,  he  contemptuously  disregarded  their 
arrival.  When  Garth,  full  of  curiosity,  came  closer, 
he  spread  his  vast  wings  and  drifted  indifferently  out 
into  space. 

For  a  long  time  they  gazed  at  the  scene  without 
speaking.  It  was  Natalie  who  finally  expressed  their 
common  thought. 

"Wouldn't  it  be  sweet,"  she  said  wistfully,  "if  our 
journey  had  no  other  object  but  to  see  this!  With 
what  satisfied  hearts  we  could  now  turn  back!" 

Skirting  the  edge  of  the  steep,  presently  the  Settle- 
ment came  into  view  far  below,  a  hut  or  two  along 
the  river,  hugging  the  base  of  the  cliffs.  The  trail 
zigzagged  gradually  down,  frequently  doubling  on 
itself;  and  whereas  the  eagle  might  have  descended 
in  a  minute,  it  promised  to  be  more  like  half  an  hour 
for  them. 

Garth,  following  his  previous  policy,  did  not  intend 
to  expose  Natalie  to  the  stares  of  the  Settlement,  until 
he  had  at  least  reconnoitred.  Before  coming  on  the 
houses,  therefore,  he  led  his  little  caravan  off  through 
the  bush  to  the  left;  and  descended  to  the  shore  of 
the  smaller  stream  they  had  seen  from  above.  Here, 
in  a  private  glade  beside  the  noisy  brown  water,  thev 


THE    LAST    STAGE  191 

pitched  their  camp;  and  Garth,  leaving  Natalie  armed 
against  all  eventualities,  proceeded  into  the  Settlement. 

His  inevitable  first  question  at  the  store  elicited 
the  information  that  the  Bishop  had  gone  up  the  river 
to  Binchinnin,  Ostachegan  Creek  and  Fort  St.  Pierre. 
Next,  the  name  of  Herbert  Mabyn  called  forth  con- 
temptuous shrugs.  None  of  the  men  could  give  certain 
information  of  his  whereabouts,  though  Clearwater 
Lake  was  mentioned  again.  He  had  not  been  in  to 
the  post  for  four  months;  and  there  was  a  handful  of" 
letters  waiting  for  him.  Garth  was  referred  to  the 
breeds  across  the  river  for  better  news.  It  was  clearly 
intimated  that  all  self-respecting  white  men  had  cast 
Mabyn  off. 

Inquiring  the  means  of  crossing  the  river,  the  ferry 
was  pointed  out  to  Garth,  a  barge  propelled  with 
sweeps.  It  must  be  tracked  up-stream  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  before  starting  across,  to  allow  for  the  current, 
he  was  told.  The  trader  offered  to  help  him  when  he 
was  ready.  Garth  thanking  him,  privately  resolved 
to  cross  before  the  Settlement  was  astir  next  morning. 
He  saw  that  his  own  reticence  in  answering  questions 
inspired  the  three  simultaneously  with  the  idea  that 
he  was  a  detective  from  outside,  in  pursuit  of  Herbert 
Mabyn  for  some  early  sin;  and  he  let  it  go  at  that. 

Garth  roused  Natalie  long  before  dawn;  and  they 
crossed  the  river  by  the  first  greenish  light  of  the  East. 
Garth  handled  one  sweep,  Natalie  the  other;  and 


192  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

their  labour  was  great.  The  incorrigible  Timoosis, 
who  never  neglected  an  opportunity  to  make  trouble, 
balked  furiously  at  the  ferry;  and,  finally  driven  on 
board  and  tied,  managed  to  work  the  other  horses 
up  to  a  high  state  of  excitement  during  the  passage. 

Finally,  when  they  had  almost  made  the  other 
shore,  he  succeeded  in  breaking  his  halter;  and,  leaping 
over  the  stern,  perversely  struck  out  for  the  shore  they 
had  left.  Cy  and  Caspar,  horses  of  no  character, 
blindly  leaped  after  him.  For  a  moment  a  dire  disaster 
threatened;  for  Timoosis,  borne  down  by  the  weight 
of  his  pack,  could  scarcely  keep  his  head  above  water; 
and  they  thought  they  had  lost  both  their  horse  and 
their  camp  equipment.  But  the  self-contained  Emmy, 
who  had  not  budged  during  all  the  excitement,  merely 
turned  her  head,  and  sent  an  imperious  whinny  in  the 
direction  of  her  offspring;  whereupon  Timoosis,  with 
true  coltish  inconsistency,  turned  about,  and  came 
meekly  swimming  after  the  barge,  followed  by  the  other 
two.  Since  the  shore  was  not  above  twenty-five  yards 
off  he  managed  to  win  it  pack  and  all,  and  staggered 
up  on  the  beach,  chilled,  exhausted,  and  much  chast- 
ened in  mind.  Warned  by  previous  experiences, 
they  never  trusted  him  with  anything  perishable,  so 
the  damage  to  his  pack  was  slight. 

After  an  hour's  travelling,  they  halted  by  the  trail 
at  sunrise  to  eat,  and  to  dry  out  what  had  been  wet. 
This  part  of  the  trail  traversed  the  heavily  wooded 
bottom-lands,  before  starting  to  climb  the  grassy 


THE    LAST    STAGE  193 

steeps  of  the  further  bank.  As  they  sat  on  a  log  dis- 
cussing their  bread  and  cocoa,  a  rollicking  song  came, 
as  a  sound  comes  fluctuating  through  the  woods,  now 
from  this  side,  now  from  that,  and  curiously  deadened. 
It  finally  resolved  itself  into  the  air  of  Ta-ra-ra-boom- 
de-ay  with  words  in  Cree.  While  it  still  seemed  some 
distance  away,  suddenly  the  singer  rode  upon  them; 
and  reining  up  his  horse,  called  the  song  into  his  sur- 
prised throat. 

He  was  the  handsomest  native  they  had  met,  a  young 
fellow  of  twenty-odd,  lean  and  broad-shouldered,  with 
flashing  black  eyes  and  high-bridged  nose.  His 
stiff-brimmed  "Stetson"  was  tilted  at  a  dashing  angle; 
he  had  a  scarlet  silk  handkerchief  about  his  throat; 
and  he  sat  his  horse  like  a  young  prince  of  the  woods. 
Whether  pure  redskin  or  breed  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  tell;  certainly  there  was  no  visible  evidence 
of  a  white  admixture;  but  in  spite  of  his  strange  and 
savage  air,  there  was  something  instantly  likeable 
about  the  young  man  —  according  to  Natalie  he  was 
the  first  native  they  had  met  who  seemed  human.  He 
rode  a  fine  black  horse  as  bravely  accoutred  as  would 
become  the  captain  of  a  round-up. 

He  seemed  disposed  to  be  friendly;  and  Garth 
invited  him  to  share  their  meal.  As  politeness 
demanded,  he  broke  a  small  piece  of  bread,  and  drank 
some  cocoa,  which  was  plainly  not  at  all  to  his  taste. 
When  he  sat  down  he  had  the  grace  to  take  off  his  hat, 
something  else  they  had  not  seen  before  in  a  native. 


194  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

His  name,  he  volunteered,  was  Gene  Lafabe.  Since 
his  English  was  about  on  a  par  with  Garth's  Cree, 
communication  was  difficult.  In  his  simplicity,  the 
young  man  was  continually  forgetting  they  could  not 
understand  his  language;  and  when  Garth  shook  his 
head,  only  shoute4  the  louder. 

"You  know  Herbert  Mabyn  ?"   Garth  asked. 

Gene  vigorously  nodded  his  head,  adding  a  stream 
of  information,  which,  had  they  only  understood, 
would  have  materially  altered  their  subsequent  line 
of  action. 

Garth  shook  his  head  hopelessly.  "Where  is  he?" 
he  asked. 

Gene  pointed  north.  "Clearwater  Lake,"  he  said; 
and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  counted  seventy-five 
with  his  ten  fingers. 

"Where  is  the  trail  ?"  Garth  asked. 

Gene  shrugged.     "Nomoya!"  he  said.     "No  trail!" 

Garth  had  an  inspiration.  "  Can  you  take  us  there  ? " 
he  asked. 

Considerable  patience  and  good-humour  were  called 
for  from  both  sides,  in  the  arduous  course  of  arriving 
at  an  understanding;  but  finally  a  bargain  was  struck. 
Gene,  in  addition  to  the  credentials  of  his  person, 
bore  a  highly  satisfactory  letter  of  recommendation 
from  the  company  trader  at  the  Crossing.  Whatever 
his  errand  in  the  first  place  may  have  been,  he  never 
gave  it  another  thought;  and  in  half  an  hour  blithely 
turned  his  horse's  head,  and  took  the  lead  on  the  trail. 


THE    LAST    STAGE  195 

Gene  looked  at  every  considerable  tree,  every  little 
gulley,  and  every  rise  in  the  ground  with  the  eye  of" 
an  old  friend.  In  a  mile  or  so,  at  a  place  marked  in 
no  way  that  Garth  could  see,  he  abruptly  turned 
out  of  the  trail;  and  led  them  with  an  air  of  certainty 
through  the  apparently  trackless  woods.  The  trees 
ended  at  the  steep  rise  that  marked  the  bottom  of  the 
northern  bank;  and  thereafter  they  climbed  the  grass. 

By  a  devious  route  known  to  himself  Gene  led  them 
through  many  little  grassy  ravines,  and  over  ridges, 
gradually  upward.  There  was  no  sense  or  order  in 
the  arrangement  of  the  knolls  and  terraces  and  spurs 
of  turf —  the  ground  seemed  to  be  pushed  up  anyhow, 
like  bubbles  on  the  surface  of  yeasty  dough.  For 
a  while  they  would  be  swallowed  in  a  cup-like  hollow; 
then,  surmounting  a  ridge,  they  would  have  a  brief 
glimpse  of  the  distant  river  behind.  It  was  only  when 
they  reached  the  top  that,  looking  back  over  the  tur- 
bulent rounded  masses  of  earth,  they  were  able  to 
comprehend  the  great  height  to  which  they  had  climbed. 

Reaching  level  ground,  Gene  with  a  shout  set  off 
at  a  lope  in  a  bee  line  across  the  prairie;  and  Garth 
bringing  up  the  packhorses  in  the  rear,  caused  the 
sedate  Emmy  to  put  her  best  foot  foremost.  Mean- 
while, with  pocket-compass  and  memorandum  book, 
he  made  notes  of  the  route  they  took;  and  when  oppor- 
tunity offered  tied  a  strip  of  white  cotton  to  a  bush. 
It  was  his  intention  to  dismiss  Gene  before  coming 
to  Mabyn's  hut;  and  he  wished  to  be  sure  of  the  way 


196  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

back.  The  guide,  comprehending  what  he  was  doing, 
gave  him  to  understand  that  Emmy  could  bring  them 
back  over  their  own  tracks  —  unless  snow  should 
fall.  But  Garth  was  neglecting  no  precautions. 

Garth  and  Natalie  deplored  to  each  other  the  inad- 
equacy of  their  means  of  communication  with  their 
guide.  The  bright-eyed  Gene  had  a  hundred  things 
to  point  out  to  them  on  the  prairie,  most  of  which 
they  could  only  guess  at.  For  one  thing,  he  made 
them  understand  he  was  following  in  the  tracks  of 
two  cayuses  that  had  gone  that  way  three  days  before. 
One  was  lame,  he  said,  and  the  other  dragged  a  tra- 
voise.  All  this  he  learned  from  certain  marks  in  the 
grass,  which  the  other  two  could  not  see  at  all.  In 
all  ways  Gene  proved  himself  a  very  pearl  among 
guides.  Garth,  merely  from  watching  him,  learned 
as  much  trail-craft  these  two  days  as  he  had  picked 
up  during  the  weeks  preceding;  and  Natalie  confessed 
that  his  cooking  put  her  utterly  to  shame. 

Such  was  the  energy  of  their  pace  that  they  reached 
the  last  waterhole  before  coming  to  Clearwater  Lake 
early  next  afternoon.  Here  Garth  decided  to  camp; 
for  he  had  determined  with  Natalie  to  time  their 
arrival  at  Mabyn's  hut  for  the  morning;  so  that  after 
the  briefest  stay,  they  could  immediately  start  back. 
Clearwater  Lake  was  only  three  miles  distant;  and 
Gene  was  able  to  point  out  a  poplar  bluff  marking 
the  rise  behind  which  it  lay. 

Neither   Garth   nor   Natalie   obtained   much   sleep 


THE    LAST    STAGE  197 

that  night;  only  Gene,  wrapped  in  his  rabbit-skin 
robe  beyond  the  fire,  slept  the  sleep  of  the  savage  or 
the  child.  They  were  all  astir  at  dawn;  and  after 
eating,  they  parted;  Gene  careering  south  without  a 
care  on  his  mind;  while  Garth  and  Natalie  turned 
their  apprehensive  faces  toward  the  lake.  What 
they  were  to  find  there  they  did  not  know;  but  intui- 
tion warned  them  it  would  be  sufficiently  painful. 

When  they  reached  the  brow  of  the  last  hill,  and 
the  lake  stretched  vividly  below  them,  they  had  no 
eyes  for  the  loveliness  of  the  prospect.  The  little  hut 
at  the  head  of  the  water  far  to  the  left  was  the  first 
thing  they  saw;  and  it  was  charged  with  a  significance 
that  obliterated  everything  else.  Facing  the  early 
sunlight  it  stood  revealed  with  startling  distinctness; 
and  even  at  the  distance  had  a  ghastly  look;  gray, 
artificial  and  decayed  in  the  midst  of  the  mellow  autumn 
loveliness. 

"I  will  picket  the  packhorses  down  at  the  edge  of 
the  water,"  Garth  said;  "and  we'll  ride  on  without 
them.  It  will  provide  us  with  an  obvious  excuse  to 
return  immediately." 

Natalie  scarcely  heard.  Her  eyes  were  fixed  on 
the  distant  shack.  "What  do  you  suppose  it  hides 
from  us?"  she  whispered.  "Death,  misery,  or  dis- 
grace ?" 

Garth  could  scarcely  forbear  groaning  in  the  pain  of 
his  solicitude  for  her.  "  Oh,  Natalie !"  he  said  hoarsely, 
"I  haven't  done  right  to  expose  you  to  this!" 


198  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I  made  you!'*  she  said  quickly.  "Besides,  it's 
not  a  question  of  right  or  wrong.  As  you  said  we 
would,  we  have  only  done  the  best  we  could,  under 
the  circumstances  that  arose." 

"At  least  let  me  ride  on  ahead  a  little,"  he  begged. 
"You  stay  with  the  outfit.  I  will  hurry  back." 

She  shook  her  head.  "I  couldn't  stand  the  sus- 
pense," she  said  simply.  "Do  not  be  afraid  on  my 
account,"  she  added;  "merely  looking  with  my  out- 
ward eyes  at  something  that  always  faces  me  within 
won't  hurt  me.  Come  on !" 

But  presently  she  reined  up  her  pony  again,  and 
turning  a  pair  of  brimming  eyes  on  him,  extended  her 
hand.  "Garth!"  she  murmured,  "I — I  would  like 
to  thank  you  —  but  I  can't!" 

"Oh,  don't!"   he  begged. 

"Whatever  we  find  down  there,"  she  said  wistfully, 
"it  can't  make  any  difference,  can  it?  We  will  still 
be  the  same  partners  of  the  trail  ?" 

Garth  went  pale  to  his  lips  —  but  he  contrived  to 
smile  at  her.  He  took  her  hand  and  looked  at  her 
full.  "Until  death,"  he  said  quietly. 

She  drew  her  hand  away,  with  a  deep  breath.  "  Come 
on,"  she  said.  "We've  got  to  face  it!" 


XV 

THE   MEETING 

THE  spot  of  the  lake  shore  where  Garth  picketed 
the   two   horses   was    something    under   two 
miles    from     Mabyn's    hut.     The    way    led 
among  the  trees  which  filled  this  part  of  the  valley  of 
the  lake;    and  underfoot  they  could  distinguish  traces 
of  an  old  trail.     The  growth  ended  abruptly  at  the 
edge  of  a  small,  dry  watercourse,  which  came  down 
to  the  lake;   and  issuing  into  the  open  here,  the  riders 
beheld  the  dreaded  goal  of  their  long  journey  immedi- 
ately before  them. 

As  they  crossed  the  stones,  they  were  ready  to  fancy 
they  could  hear,  each  the  beating  of  the  other's  heart; 
and  the  scene  before  them  was  bitten  into  their  brains, 
to  endure  hideously  vivid  and  minute  while  life 
endured.  The  shack  presented  a  three-quarter  view, 
front  and  side.  It  topped  a  gentle,  uneven  acclivity 
of  grass,  rising  from  the  watercourse  at  its  side;  while 
in  front,  the  ground  extended  level  a  hundred  feet  to 
the  edge  of  a  cut-bank.  This  bank  rose  out  of  the 
lake  sheer  and  loamy,  to  the  height  of  a  cottage  roof; 
and  over  the  edge  hung  a  tangled  fringe  of  grass-roots. 

199 


200  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Desolation  was  the  cry  of  it  all;  winters  upon 
winters  had  bleached  the  logs  of  the  shack  silvery 
like  old  hair;  the  chimney  had  fallen;  and  all  four 
quarters  of  glass  in  the  single  window  were  out.  At 
one  time  the  slope  between  the  hut  and  the  bed  of  the 
stream  had  evidently  been  a  theatre  of  industry;  for 
the  ground  was  pitted  and  hummocked  and  rutted; 
but  long  ago  the  grass  had  indifferently  muffled  it 
over,  like  graves  in  an  old  cemetery.  In  the  centre 
of  this  waste  stood,  the  picture  of  dejection,  an  Indian- 
bred  cayuse,  miserable  burlesque  of  the  equine  species, 
no  bigger  than  a  donkey,  and  incredibly  hairy  and 
misshapen.  His  back  was  galled;  and  one  leg,  which 
he  painfully  favoured,  puffed  to  treble  its  size  at  the 
hock.  Even  the  great  cottonwood  trees  springing 
beyond  the  hut,  with  their  shattered  branches,  and 
blotched  and  greenish  trunks,  breathed  decay.  An 
ancient  dug-out,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  water- 
course, was,  like  everything  else,  rotting  and  seamed. 

And  on  the  bench  at  the  door  of  the  hut  sat  the  evil 
genius  of  the  scene;  a  man  with  his  legs  sprawling  in 
front  of  him,  and  his  head  fallen  over  and  back  against 
the  wall.  He  made  no  move  at  their  approach;  and 
when  they  came  close,  they  saw  that  he  slept.  Piti- 
lessly revealed  in  the  strong  sunlight,  he  made  a  spec- 
tacle at  which  the  most  indifferent  stranger  would 
have  shuddered  and  sickened  —  and  it  was  reserved 
for  the  woman  who  had  exalted  him  in  her  maiden's 
heart,  to  see  him  then.  His  mouth  hung  open;  he 


THE    MEETING  201 

breathed  stertorously;  and  the  flies,  buzzing  in  and 
out  of  the  open  door  beside  him,  crawled  at  will  over 
his  ashen  face.  That  his  chin  was  freshly  shaven, 
and  his  hair  brushed,  added  to  the  ghastliness.  The 
whole  picture  was  horribly  vivid;  the  littlest  details 
of  it  struck  on  the  retinas  of  the  two  observers  like 
blows  —  the  oblong  patch  of  sunlight  cleaving  the 
gloom  of  the  shack  inside  the  door;  six  muskrat  pelts 
above  the  man's  head,  tacked  to  the  logs  to  dry;  an 
old  foul  pipe  with  a  silver  mounting,  half  fallen  from 
his  relaxed  fingers  and  spilling  ashes  on  the  bench; 
his  old-fashioned  rifle  leaning  against  the  door-frame. 
Garth  could  have  furnished  the  size,  the  style  and  the 
make  of  that  gun. 

Natalie  turned  a  stony  face  to  Garth.  "It  is  he," 
she  whispered. 

Garth  thought  of  an  old  photograph  she  had  shown 
him  of  a  dark-haired  youth  sitting  on  a  horse,  with  a 
charming,  imperious  grace  of  body  and  feature,  in 
which  there  was  something  godlike  and  unanswerable; 
and  looking  at  this  wreck  of  a  man,  toothless,  bald 
and  livid,  he  was  struck  with  awe. 

"You  have  seen,"  he  whispered  to  Natalie.  "Let 
us  ride  back." 

She  shook  her  head.  "I  must  say  what  I  came 
for,"  she  said. 

"Will  you  dismount  ?"  he  asked. 

Natalie  shuddered.  "Never,  here!"  she  whis- 
pered. 


202  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

In  a  moment  she  had  commanded  herself  again. 
"Please  speak  to  him,"  she  said. 

"Mabyn!"  called  Garth  peremptorily. 

The  man's  lids  parted.  Natalie  was  directly 
in  front  of  him.  As  his  sleep-stupefied  eyes  slowly 
took  her  in,  he  raised  himself  to  an  upright  posi- 
tion, and  struck  his  eyeballs  sharply  with  his 
knuckles. 

Garth  instinctively  drew  away  a  little. 

"A  white  woman!"  muttered  the  man,  lost  in 
amazement. 

Natalie,  her  head  slightly  averted,  sat  her  horse 
like  a  carven  woman. 

Fear  grew  apace  with  wonder  in  Mabyn's  eyes; 
his  breath  quickened;  he  ceaselessly  passed  his  hand 
in  front  of  his  face.  "Natalie!"  he  muttered,  still 
in  the  toneless  voice  of  one  who  sleeps.  "Oh,  my 
God!  It's  Natalie!" 

Grasping  the  edge  of  the  bench,  he  pulled  himself 
to  his  feet;  and  took  a  few  uncertain  steps  toward 
her.  He  put  out  his  hand  fearfully. 

Natalie  sharply  reined  back  her  horse.  "Don't 
touch  me!"  she  said. 

It  broke  the  spell  that  held  him  —  but  not  wholly. 
His  hands  dropped  to  his  sides;  a  saner  light  appeared 
in  his  eyes;  and  he  looked  all  around,  as  if  to  con- 
vince himself  of  the  realness  of  his  surroundings.  On 
Garth  his  eyes  lingered  stupidly  for  a  moment;  then 
impatiently  returned  to  Natalie. 


THE    MEETING  203 

"If  it's  you,  how  did  you  get  here?"  he  asked 
quietly  enough  —  still  bemused. 

"  I  came  over  the  prairie,  as  every  one  comes,"  she 
said  sharply. 

Mabyn  frowned.  "I'm  wide  awake,"  he  said 
irritably.  "  I  know  where  I  am.  I  fell  asleep  on  the 
bench  half  an  hour  ago  —  but,"  his  voice  deepened  and 
swelled  on  the  note  of  awe,  "you,  Natalie !  You  or  your 
wraith!  I  —  I  can't  take  it  in!"  The  faded  eyes  bolted, 
and  swept  wearily  and  unseeingly  over  the  lake. 

Natalie  winced  every  time  he  spoke  her  name. 
"Try  to  collect  yourself,"  she  said  coldly.  "There 
is  no  doubt  of  its  being  I." 

"The  voice  too!"  he  muttered,  struck  with  the 
new  thought.  His  eyes  returned  to  her.  "  Natalie  — 
and  not  changed  at  all!"  he  murmured  dreamily. 
"But  more  beautiful!" 

"If  you  please!"  said  Natalie  haughtily. 

He  still  stood  looking  at  her  with  something  the 
air  of  a  bewildered  child,  but  more  of  the  aged  lunatic. 
"The  first  time  I  saw  her,  she  was  on  a  horse,"  he 
said  in  his  dull  voice.  "But  she  was  better  dressed. 
Where  did  you  get  those  clothes  ?"  he  asked  suddenly. 

Natalie  shot  an  appealing  glance  at  Garth. 

He,  in  his  over-mastering  disgust  of  the  man,  could 
not  put  away  the  thought  that  there  was  something 
feigned  in  this  excessive  bewilderment.  "Come  to 
yourself,  Mabyn!"  he  said  sharply.  "We  can't 
stop  here!" 


204  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Mabyn  darted  a  startled,  spiteful  glance  at  the 
new  speaker,  and  without  another  word,  turned  and 
went  back  to  the  bench,  where  he  sat,  burying  his 
face  in  his  hands.  Natalie  and  Garth  looked  at  each 
other,  scarcely  knowing  how  to  act.  But  presently 
Mabyn  lifted  his  head  again;  and,  spying  his  pipe 
where  it  had  fallen,  picked  it  up,  and  attentively 
knocked  out  what  remained  of  the  ashes  in  the  bowl. 

Natalie  thought  she  might  venture  to  address  him 
again.  "I  have  something  important  to  tell  you," 
she  began. 

Mabyn  darted  a  queer,  furtive  look  at  her;  shame, 
suspicion,  obsequiousness  and  a  sudden,  reborn  passion 
all  had  a  part  in  it.  "Won't  you  shake  hands  with 
me?"  he  asked  suddenly. 

Natalie  drew  the  long  breath  that  invokes  Patience 
and  looked  elsewhere. 

"You've    changed  toward    me,"  the  man  whined. 

Indignation  suddenly  reddened  her  cheeks,  and  she 
levelled  her  blue  eyes  upon  him  in  a  glance  that  should 
have  struck  to  his  soul. 

But  it  failed  to  penetrate  very  far.  "I  know  I've 
treated  you  badly,"  he  went  on.  "I  was  coming  out 
in  the  spring,  though;  just  as  soon  as  I  got  things 
straight.  I've  worked  like  a  son-of-a-gun  too,  but 
luck  has  always  been  against  me."  His  voice  gathered 
assurance  from  his  own  excuses. 

"Never  mind  that  now,"  said  Natalie.  "Please 
listen  to  what  I  have  to  say." 


THEMEETING  205 

But  the  man,  shrinking  from  matter  hateful  to  his 
ears,  strove  to  divert  her.  He  struck  his  forehead 
with  his  knuckles,  and  jumped  up.  "By  Gad! 
What's  the  matter  with  me!"  he  cried.  "I  never 
asked  you  in!  It's  a  wretched  hole,  but  such  as  it 
is  -  He  had  turned  to  the  door.  Sudden  recol- 

lection chopped  off  the  speech  midway;  and  he 
turned  a  furtive,  frightened  face  over  his  shoulder  to 
Natalie. 

"N-never  mind,"  he  gabbled  hurriedly.  "Don't 
come  in!  It's  not  fit  to  receive  you!  It's  better  out 
here!"  Little  beads  of  sweat  were  springing  out  on 
his  forehead. 

His  whole  bearing  had  been  so  wild  and  stupefied 
since  his  waking,  that  they  attached  small  importance 
to  this  display  of  terror.  Natalie  patiently  essayed 
to  speak  again;  but  again  he  interrupted. 

His  face  cleared.  "You've  left  your  outfit  some- 
where back  on  the  trail,"  he  said  eagerly.  "I'll  go 
back  with  you;  and  we  can  talk  things  over  quietly 
there!"  He  actually  started  toward  the  watercourse, 
walking  with  jerky,  uneven  steps. 

Natalie  made  no  move  to  follow.  "  I  will  say  what 
I  have  to  say  here,"  she  spoke  after  him. 

Mabyn  was  voluble,  scarcely  coherent  in  his  incon- 
tinent desire  to  take  her  away  from  the  hut.  Natalie 
waited,  letting  him  talk  himself  out.  Finally  compelled 
to  give  in,  he  returned  with  strange,  apprehensive 
glances  around  the  hut,  and  over  the  summits  of  the 


206  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

hills  behind.  Garth  thought  his  brain  was  beginning 
to  be  affected  by  a  solitary  life. 

However,  he  now  listened  patiently  enough. 

"You  have  not  written  to  your  mother  or  to  me  in 
many  months,"  began  Natalie  coldly;  "and  your 
letters  for  three  years  past  have  given  us  no  information. 
Your  mother's  whole  thought  is  of  you;  and  through 
her  anxiety  and  suspense  she  is  worn  to  a  shadow  of 
what  she  was;  the  doctors  tell  her  she  has  a  mortal 
disease  that  must  soon  prevail." 

In  spite  of  herself  Natalie's  voice  softened  as  she 
delivered  her  pitiful  plea;  but  it  was  not  from  any 
kindness  for  him.  "She  has  been  very  kind  to  me 
all  these  years,"  she  went  on,  "  and  I,  to  ease  her  what 
I  could  of  the  torment  of  her  mind  during  her  last 
days,  volunteered  to  go  with  her  to  find  you.  Her 
age  and  her  infirmities  prevented  her  from  coming  any 
farther  than  Prince  George.  I  have  been  fortunate 
in  finding  friends  who  have  assisted  me  the  rest  of  the 
way.  I  have  come  to  beg  you,  on  behalf  of  your  mother, 
to  let  her  see  you  before  she  dies.  She  is  waiting  in 
Prince  George.  She  bade  me  tell  you  that  neither 
poverty,  misfortune  nor  disgrace  could  abate  any  of 
her  love  for  you;  that  she  would  die  happy  if  she  might 
once  more  press  your  hand  against  her  cheek." 

Garth  watched  Mabyn  narrowly  while  Natalie  was 
speaking.  He  saw  by  the  man's  rapt  expression  that 
her  voice  charmed  his  senses,  while  the  purport  of  what 
she  said  was  wholly  lost  on  his  consciousness.  When 


THE    MEETING  207 

her  voice  broke  a  little  at  the  close,  Mabyn's  lips 
parted,  and  his  breath  came  quicker  —  but  it  was  no 
tenderness  for  a  devoted  parent,  only  a  passion  purely 
selfish,  that  caused  his  lack-lustre  eyes  to  glitter  again. 

"These  letters,"  concluded  Natalie,  drawing  them 
forth  as  she  spoke,  "three  of  which  I  have  brought 
from  the  post  office,  and  the  fourth  which  she  gave 
me  herself,  will  let  you  know,  better  than  I  can  tell  you, 
what  she  feels." 

Mabyn  took  the  letters;  and  thrusting  them  care- 
lessly in  his  pocket  —  one  fell  to  the  ground  and  lay 
there  unheeded  —  snatched  back  at  Natalie's  hand, 
and  attempted  to  retain  it.  Reining  her  horse  back, 
she  wrenched  it  free. 

A  little  shame  reached  the  seat  of  Mabyn's  con- 
sciousness. He  reddened.  "I'm  not  a  leper,"  he 
muttered.  "You  came  to  me  of  your  own  free  will, 
didn't  you  ?" 

"Build  nothing  on  that!"  said  Natalie  instantly 
and  clearly.  "  I  allow  no  claim  on  me !" 

Mabyn  quickly  changed  to  obsequiousness.  "I 
don't  want  to  quarrel  with  you,  Natalie,"  he  whined. 
"Especially  not  after  what  you've  just  done!" 

He  went  to  his  bench  again;  and  sat  heavily.  Again 
he  struck  his  forehead  with  his  knuckles.  "Gad! 
I  can't  yet  realize  it  is  you  that  is  here!" 

Natalie  looked  at  Garth  as  much  as  to  say  that  she 
had  accomplished  what  she  came  for. 

The  look  was  not  lost  on  Mabyn.     He  sprang  up. 


208  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I'll  do  just  what  you  want!"  he  said  hurriedly. 
"I'll  start  for  Prince  George  at  once  —  to-day  —  this 
minute !  God  knows  there's  nothing  to  keep  me  here ! 
You  have  a  spare  horse,  I  suppose.  I've  nothing  but 
that  galled  cayuse  and  another  as  bad!"  He  uttered 
his  cracked  laugh  in  a  tone  that  was  intended  to  be 
ingratiating.  "That's  the  advantage  of  poverty!  I've 
no  preparations  to  make;  so  lead  on !" 

Natalie  paused  irresolutely.  This  was  a  contin- 
gency she  had  not  foreseen.  She  shuddered  at  the 
possibilities  it  opened  up.  In  her  perplexity  she  looked 
again  at  Garth. 

"  We  will  leave  you  a  horse,"  said  he  curtly.  "  And 
your  passage  out  from  the  lake  Settlement  will  be 
arranged  for." 

"And  what  money  you  need,"  added  Natalie  in 
a  low  tone,  and  blushing  painfully. 

But  Mabyn's  feelings  were  not  hurt.  "I  can  go 
with  you  just  as  well,"  he  blustered. 

Natalie  looked  at  Garth  once  more. 

"You  may  follow  us  as  soon  as  you  choose,"  said 
Garth  coolly.  "We  do  not  desire  your  company  on 
the  way." 

For  the  first  time  Mabyn  appeared  to  recognize 
Garth's  presence  on  the  scene.  He  turned  a  baleful 
eye  on  him;  and  his  lips  curled  back  over  his  gums. 
"Who  are  you?"  he  snarled,  adding  an  oath. 

"That  is  neither  here  nor  there,"  said  Garth.  "I 
speak  for  Miss  Bland." 


THE    MEETING  209 

"  Mrs.  Mabyn,  you  mean,"  sneered  the  other,  think- 
ing to  crush  him  with  the  information. 

"She  does  not  use  that  name,"  returned  Garth 
imperturbably. 

Mabyn  turned  furiously  to  Natalie.  "Who  is  this 
man  ?"  he  cried,  his  cracked  voice  sliding  into  falsetto; 
"this  sleek  young  sprig  that  rides  alone  with  you 
through  the  country!  I  demand  to  know!  I  have 
a  right  to  know!" 

"I  admit  no  right!"  Natalie  said  firmly. 

Mabyn,  beside  himself  with  jealous  rage,  no  longer 
knew  what  he  said.  "You  won't  explain!"  he  cried. 
"You  can't  explain!  Here's  a  nasty  situation  for  a 
married  woman!" 

Garth's  self-control,  stretched  on  the  rack  through 
all  this  scene,  suddenly  snapped  in  twain.  Temper 
with  Garth  took  the  form  of  laughter;  mocking,  danger- 
ous laughter,  that  issued  startlingly  from  his  grave 
lips. 

He  laughed  now.  "You  scoundrel!"  he  said  in 
cool,  incisive  tones  —  though  he  was  not  a  whit  less 
blinded  by  passion  than  Mabyn  himself-  "after 
the  kind  of  life  you've  been  leading  up  here,  have  you 
still  the  assurance  to  lay  a  claim  upon  her!  And  to 
cast  a  reflection  on  her  good  name!  Have  you  no 
mirror  to  see  what  you  are  ?  Go  in  the  lake,  then, 
and  see  the  vile  record  written  on  your  face !" 

Mabyn  was  staggered.  Garth's  terrible  scorn  pene- 
trated the  last  wrappings  of  the  warmly  nurtured  ego 


210  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

within.  He  shot  a  startled  glance  at  Garth;  and 
from  Garth  to  the  hut  and  behind,  as  if  wondering  how 
much  he  knew. 

Garth  was  not  through  with  him.  He  slipped  his 
stirrups,  preparatory  to  leaping  off  his  horse.  Natalie 
trembled  at  the  quiet  man's  new  aspect. 

"Garth!"   she  entreated  urgently. 

The  sound  of  her  voice  recalled  him  to  himself. 
Settling  back  in  his  saddle,  he  abruptly  turned  his 
horse,  and  went  off  a  little  way,  struggling  to  regain 
his  self-command. 

Mabyn,  misunderstanding,  was  vastly  lifted  up  by 
this  word  of  Natalie's,  and  the  writhing  ego  within 
hastened  to  repair  the  horrid  breach  Garth  had  made. 
He  approached  her,  hidden  by  her  horse  from  Garth. 

"Oh,  Natalie!"  he  gabbled  whiningly;  "don't 
listen  to  him.  He's  a  low  cur!  But  he  can't  make 
trouble  between  you  and  me!  Send  him  away!  Nata- 
lie, I  seem  to  have  acted  badly;  but  I  can  explain 
everything!  Circumstances  were  all  against  me!  In 
my  heart  I've  never  swerved  from  you!  I  dream  of 
you  every  night  in  my  lonesomeness!  Wherever  I 
look  I  see  your  face  before  my  eyes!" 

It  was  the  old  trick  of  passionate  speech;    Natalie 
remembered  the  very  words  of  old;    but  the  man  - 
she  averted  her  head  from  the  hideous  spectacle.     She 
was  afraid  to  move  or  cry  out,  sure  that  Garth  in  his 
present  mind  would  kill  him  if  he  heard. 

Mabyn,  conceiving  nothing  of  the  sublime  irony  of 


THE    MEETING  211 

the  figure  he  made,  continued  to  plead.  "Natalie, 
don't  turn  away  from  me!  You  took  me  for  better 
or  worse,  remember !  You  found  me  at  a  disadvantage 
to-day;  I  don't  look  like  this  ordinarily.  And  you 
can  make  whatever  you  like  of  me!  Remember  the 
old  days  at  home !  I  am  the  same  man  —  Bert  —  your 
Bert !  Look  —  he  can't  see  us  —  I  kneel  to  you  as 
I  did  then!" 

And  down  he  went  on  his  knees,  stretching  out  his 
arms  to  her. 

There  was  an  odd,  slight  sound  behind  him.  They 
both  looked  —  and  froze  in  the  attitude  of  looking. 
Garth  from  his  station,  seeing  the  new  look  of  horror 
overspread  Natalie's  face,  spurred  to  join  her. 

There,  clinging  to  the  corner  of  the  cabin  for  support, 
stood  the  figure  of  a  woman.  Her  brown  skin  was 
blanched  to  a  livid  yellow;  and  her  eyes  were  the 
eyes  of  one  dead  from  a  shock.  She  swayed  forward 
from  the  waist  as  if  her  backbone  could  no  longer 
support  her.  At  her  feet  a  tin  pail  emptied  wild 
cherries  on  the  ground. 

Mabyn  scrambled  to  his  feet,  shamed,  chagrined, 
furious.  "What  do  you  want  around  here  ?"  he  cried 
brutally  —  even  now  seeking  to  outface  her. 

The  piteous,  stricken  girl  moistened  her  lips;  and 
essayed  more  than  once  to  speak,  before  any  words 
came.  "'Erbe't,  who  is  this  woman?"  she  said 
quite  simply  at  last. 

"What   is    that   to   you?"     he    blustered    roughly, 


212  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

thinking  to  beat  her  down;  perhaps  to  kill  her  out- 
right with  cruelty.  "This  is  my  wife!" 

"Oh,  no!  no!"  whispered  Natalie,  sick  with  the 
sight  of  so  much  misery. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  girl  heard  her.  She  tottered 
forward;  and  seized  and  clung  to  Mabyn's  arm.  Her 
breast  was  heaved  on  hard,  quick  pants  like  a  wounded 
animal's;  and  her  eyes  were  as  frantic,  and  as  inhuman. 

"'Erbe't,  who  am  I  ?"   she  breathed. 

Mabyn,  seeing  that  Natalie  heard  and  understood, 
beside  himself,  and  reckless  with  rage,  flung  out  his 
arm,  throwing  her  heavily  to  the  ground.  "You! 
damn  you!"  he  cried.  "You're  just  my  - 

Natalie,  with  a  low  cry  of  horror,  instinctively 
clapped  her  heels  to  her  horse's  ribs,  and  set  off  down 
the  hill.  Garth  wheeled  after  her. 

"Oh,  stay  —  stay  and  help  her!"   she  gasped. 

"You  come  first!"  said  Garth  grimly. 

Mabyn,  as  Natalie  turned,  sprang  after  her;  and 
running  desperately,  managed  to  cling  to  her  stirrup. 
Casting  off  the  last  vestiges  of  manliness  he  wept  and 
prayed  her  to  wait  for  him.  Her  horse,  Caspar,  kicked 
out  wildly,  and  struck  him  off.  He  lay  on  the  ground 
sobbing  and  cursing;  striving  to  drag  himself  along 
with  clawing  hands. 

Just  before  they  gained  the  watercourse,  Garth 
looked  over  his  shoulder;  and  his  heart  leapt  into  his 
throat.  The  brown  woman  was  reaching  for  Mabyn's 
rifle.  He  shouted  a  warning;  and  desperately  strove 


-C 

4-1 

TJ 


THE    MEETING  213 

to  throw  his  horse  behind  Natalie.  But  it  was  too 
late.  Hard  upon  his  voice,  the  shot  rang.  A  strange, 
low  cry  broke  from  Natalie;  and  she  reeled  in  her 
saddle.  Garth,  spurring  ahead,  grasped  Caspar's 
bridle,  and  caught  her  from  falling.  A  pang,  far 
more  dreadful  than  the  hurt  of  a  bullet,  smote  his  own 
breast. 


XVI 

NATALIE  WOUNDED 

THE  frightened  horses  struggled  over  the  water- 
course, and  gained  the  trees  before  Garth, 
hampered  as  he  was,  succeeded  in  drawing 
their  heads  together,  and  stopping  them.  Slipping 
out  of  the  saddle  without  loosening  his  grasp  of  Natalie, 
he  lifted  her  off,  ever  careful  to  shield  her  from  possible 
further  shots  with  his  own  body.  He  remembered 
Mabyn's  was  a  single-shot  weapon;  and  he  counted 
on  the  time  it  would  take  the  Indian  woman  to  obtain 
ammunition,  and  reload.  Quickly  and  tenderly  lay- 
ing Natalie  on  the  ground  under  shelter  of  a  stump, 
he  unslung  his  own  rifle.  But  as  he  dropped  to  his 
knee,  and  raised  it,  he  saw  the  woman  on  the  edge  of 
the  cut-bank  swing  the  stock  of  her  gun  around  her 
head,  and  send  the  weapon  spinning  out  over  the  water. 
Meanwhile  Mabyn  was  running  up  the  hill  toward 
her  with  significant  action.  No  immediate  further 
danger  threatened.  Garth  put  the  pair  out  of  his 
mind,  and  bent  over  Natalie.  What  happened  to 
the  woman  at  Mabyn's  hands  was  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference to  him  now. 


214 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  215 

Natalie's  left  arm  hung  useless;  and  a  soaking 
crimson  stain  spread  broadly  on  her  sleeve  between 
elbow  and  shoulder.  Her  face  had  gone  chalky  white, 
her  eyes  were  half  closed,  and  her  teeth  were  set  pain- 
fully in  her  blue  nether  lip.  To  see  his  sparkling, 
vivid  Natalie  brought  so  low,  was  a  sight  to  open  all 
the  doors  of  Garth's  brain  to  madness.  His  heart 
swelled  suffocatingly  with  rage  and  grief,  but  there 
was  no  time  for  that,  when  every  faculty  he  possessed 
must  be  concentrated  on  saving  her;  and  forcing  it 
back,  he  picked  her  up  again  with  infinite  tenderness. 
His  first  and  instinctive  thought  was  to  return  and 
seize  the  hut;  so  that  he  might  at  least  have  a  roof 
to  cover  her.  He  suspected  the  other  two  were  now 
without  arms;  but  even  if  they  had  a  weapon,  he  had 
a  better  one;  was  a  sure  shot;  and  was  on  his  guard. 

At  the  first  move  he  made  in  the  direction  of  the 
hut,  Natalie,  whom  he  had  thought  unconscious, 
divined  his  intention. 

"Garth!  Not  in  his  house!"  she  murmured  fever- 
ishly. "I  will  not  go  in  there!  I  will  not!" 

He  paused  in  a  painful  perplexity.  "But  dearest, 
there  is  no  other  house,"  he  said. 

"Put  me  down  in  the  open  air,"  she  begged.  "It 
would  suffocate  me!  I  will  not  endure  it!" 

So  Garth  turned  back  among  the  trees.  He  strode 
over  the  dead  leaves  and  the  pine  needles  to  the  lake 
shore.  Here,  between  the  willows  that  grew  thickly 
at  the  water's  verge,  and  the  heavier  timber,  extended 


216  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

an  open  strip  of  grass,  still  fresh  and  green.  He 
laid  his  burden  down  upon  it;  and,  rolling  up  his 
coat,  put  it  under  her  head  for  a  pillow. 

He  hastily  cut  away  her  sleeve,  exposing  the  injury. 
The  ball  had  passed  through,  making  a  clean  opening 
where  it  entered,  and  a  jagged  wound  whence  it  issued. 
It  was  clear  the  bone  was  broken;  but  from  the  charac- 
ter of  the  bleeding,  even  Garth  could  see  that  the  artery 
was  uninjured.  He  brought  water  from  the  lake  in 
his  hat,  and  gently  washed  the  wound;  but  even  in 
this  he  doubted  if  he  did  right;  for  the  water  was 
cold  —  but  he  had  nothing  in  which  to  heat  it.  The 
best  he  could  do  was  to  take  the  chill  out  of  it  by  press- 
ing the  handkerchief  between  his  hot  hands. 

Everything  they  possesssed  that  might  have  been 
of  service  was  two  miles  off;  and  might  just  as  well 
have  been  a  hundred;  for  Garth  could  not  think 
of  leaving  her;  and  he  shrank  from  the  thought  of 
inflicting  the  agony  it  would  cause  her  to  be  carried 
so  far.  And  even  suppose  they  gained  their  own  camp, 
the  situation  would  be  little  improved;  for  how  was 
he  in  his  ignorance  to  undertake  the  delicate  task  of 
setting  the  shattered  bone;  of  improvising  splints  and 
bandages;  and  supplying,  what  a  glance  at  the  ugly 
wound  showed  to  be  needful,  antiseptics  ?  A  surgeon, 
whatever  his  skill,  rarely  dares  trust  the  steadiness  of 
his  hand  on  the  bodies  of  those  he  loves;  what  then 
was  Garth  to  do,  who  had  no  skill  at  all  ? 

He  had  his  dark  hour  then,  tasting  ultimate  despair. 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  217 

He  sat  beside  her,  gripping  his  dull  head  between  his 
hands,  and  striving  desperately  to  contrive,  where 
there  was  nothing  to  contrive  with.  Oh,  the  pity 
and  the  wrong  of  it,  that  it  was  she  who  must  be  hurt! 
he  thought;  and  how  joyfully  he  would  have  taken  it 
himself  to  relieve  her.  He  bled  inwardly;  and  the 
physical  pain  of  the  most  hideous  wounds  could  not 
equal  the  agony  he  experienced  in  his  helplessness. 

Meanwhile  the  wound  momentarily  changed.  The 
arm  began  to  swell  and  darken;  and  Garth  knew 
there  was  no  time  to  lose.  He  made  one  attempt  to 
proceed,  kneading  the  flesh  of  the  arm  very  gently 
to  explore  the  broken  ends  of  the  bone  —  but  Natalie's 
piteous  cry  of  pain  completely  unmanned  him.  He 
desisted,  shaking  like  a  leaf,  and  sick  with  compassion; 
and  he  knew  he  would  never  be  able  to  do  it. 

What  seemed  like  an  age  passed;  though  it  was  no 
more  than  a  few  minutes.  He  was  bending  over  her, 
doing  what  little  he  could  to  ease  her  pain;  and  with 
knotted  brows  rapidly  considering,  and  rejecting,  one 
after  another,  the  desperate  expedients  that  suggested 
themselves.  Suddenly  looking  up  he  perceived  among 
the  trees,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  paces,  Rina  standing. 
Hot  anger  instantly  welled  up  in  his  breast,  and  made 
a  red  blur  before  his  eyes.  Rina's  sex  was  no  pro- 
tection to  her  then.  He  picked  up  his  gun. 

Observing  the  action,  Rina  mutely  spread  her  hands, 
palms  outward.  Her  entire  aspect  had  changed; 
the  storm  of  passion  had  passed;  and  she  stood  con- 


218  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

trite  and  sullen.  It  was  impossible  for  the  blindest 
passion  to  shoot  at  a  figure  in  such  an  attitude.  Garth 
lowered  his  gun;  but  he  still  kept  it  across  his  knees, 
and  his  face  did  not  relax.  The  woman  was  loath- 
some to  him. 

"What  do  you  want  ?"  he  demanded  coldly. 

Rina  came  a  little  closer.  "I  sorry,"  she  said 
sulkily  —  like  a  child  unwillingly  confessing  a  fault. 
"I  t'ink  I  go  looney  for  a  while.  I  not  hear  right. 
I  t'ink  she  try  to  tak*  my  'osban'  from  me!" 

Garth  glanced  at  the  suffering  Natalie  with  con- 
tracted brows.  "That's  all  very  well!"  he  said 
bitterly.  "  But  it  can't  undo  what's  done!" 

"I  can  mak'  her  well,  maybe,"  said  Rina,  still 
affecting  indifference.  "I  know  what  to  do.  My 
mot'er,  she  teach  me.  If  you  let  me  look  at  her,  I 
tell  you." 

A  wild  hope  sprang  up  in  Garth's  breast.  If  the 
girl  were  only  able  to  help  Natalie,  his  hate  of  her 
could  very  well  content  itself  a  while.  But  dare  he 
trust  her?  With  keen,  hard  eyes  he  sought  to  read 
her  face.  Her  own  eyes  avoided  his;  and  she  made 
a  picture  of  savage  indifference;  but  as  he  looked  he 
saw  two  great  tears  roll  down  her  cheeks.  In  his 
desperate  situation  it  was  well  worth  the  risk. 

Raising  his  gun,  he  said  coldly:  "You  may  look 
at  her.  If  you  try  to  injure  her,  I  will  send  a  bullet 
through  your  head." 

Receiving    the    permission,     Rina    came    forward, 


•     219 

careless  of  the  threatening  gun;  and  dropped  to  her 
knees  beside  Natalie.  She  examined  the  wound  on 
both  sides;  and  felt  of  the  fracture  with  delicate  fingers. 
To  judge  of  the  normal  position  of  the  bones,  she 
manipulated  her  own  arm.  Garth  never  took  his 
eyes  from  her;  but  she  was  tenderer  with  the  patient 
than  he  could  have  been. 

Finally  she  raised  a  mask-like  face  to  Garth.  "I 
can  fix  it,"  she  said.  "If  you  let  me." 

Whatever  her  private  feelings  were,  she  had  a  con- 
fident air,  that  could  not  but  convey  some  assurance 
to  him.  He  nodded  silently;  after  what  he  had  suf- 
fered, he  scarcely  dared  believe  in  such  good  fortune. 

Rina  quickly  rose.  "You  mak'  a  fire  to  heat  water," 
she  said  coolly.  "  I  go  to  bring  everyt'ing." 

With  the  words,  she  was  gone  among  the  trees; 
and  Garth,  overjoyed  to  be  able  to  do  something  with 
his  hands,  hastened  to  build  a  fire. 

Before  he  really  expected  her,  she  was  back  with 
what  she  needed,  a  pot  for  heating  the  water,  a  basin, 
several  kinds  of  herbs,  some  strips  of  yellowed  linen 
for  bandages,  a  blanket  and  a  knife.  While  the  water 
was  heating,  she  cut  a  deep  segment  of  the  smooth 
white  bark  of  a  young  poplar  for  a  splint  —  the  curve 
of  it  was  judged  to  a  nicety  to  fit  Natalie's  arm.  Dur- 
ing the  operation  of  setting  the  bone,  Garth  watched 
her  unswervingly,  clenching  his  teeth  to  bear  the 
spectacle  of  Natalie's  agony.  For  every  pang  of  hers 
he  suffered  a  sharper;  the  sweat  coursed  down  his  face. 


220*          TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

But  at  last  it  was  over;  the  wound  washed  and 
fomented  with  bruised  leaves,  the  splint  fitted  snug, 
and  the  whole  neatly  bandaged.  Natalie,  wrapped 
in  the  blanket,  soon  fell  into  the  sleep  of  exhaustion. 

Rina  looked  at  the  pale  and  shaken  Garth  with 
an  odd  expression.  "If  you  have  whiskey,  better 
tak'  a  drink,"  she  suggested. 

Garth  had  his  flask;  and  he  obeyed  without  question. 

Throughout  the  operation,  Rina  had  preserved  an 
admirable,  professional  air,  intent  and  impersonal; 
and  when  necessary  she  had  brusquely  ordered  Garth 
to  help  her.  Now  that  it  was  all  over  her  face  altered ; 
she  continued  to  kneel  at  Natalie's  side,  gazing  at 
her  soft  hair,  and  the  whiteness  of  her  skin  with  a  kind 
of  sad  and  jealous  wonder. 

Garth  on  the  alert  at  the  change,  which  portended 
he  knew  not  what  explosion  of  passion  in  the  savage 
woman's  breast,  ordered  her  from  Natalie's  side. 
She  obeyed,  resuming  her  sullen  mask,  but  lingered 
near  him,  plainly  full  of  some  question  she  desired  to 
ask.  He  observed  for  the  first,  a  purpling  bruise 
above  her  temple.  Rina  saw  his  eyes  upon  it,  and 
her  colour  changed. 

"I   run   against   a   tree,"   she   hastily  volunteered. 

At  the  same  time  her  hand  stole  to  her  throat  to  hide 
certain  marks  on  its  dusky  roundness.  Garth  knew 
instinctively  that  she  was  loyally  lying.  Mabyn  had 
beaten  her.  He  wondered  how  far  the  wish  to  serve 
the  woman  she  had  injured  was  Rina's  own  impulse 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  221 

and  how  far  she  had  been  forced  to  it  by  Mabyn.  He 
began  dimly  to  conceive  that  the  red  woman  had 
good  qualities. 

At  last  the  question  on  her  breast  was  spoken. 
"Who  is  she?"  she  asked,  pointing  sullenly  at  the 
sleeping  Natalie. 

Garth  rapidly  considered  what  he  should  answer. 
He  could  not  pretend  to  himself  that  he  had  forgiven 
the  woman;  but  since  Natalie's  pain  was  mitigated 
he  was  cooler;  and  his  sense  of  justice  forced  it  home 
on  him  that  Rina,  too,  had  been  through  her  ordeal. 
In  his  present  desperate  situation,  his  only  chance  of 
assistance  lay  in  her  —  Mabyn  was  an  egomaniac, 
and  utterly  irresponsible.  Frankness  had  served 
Garth  in  good  stead  before  this;  and  finally  he  told 
her  the  plain  truth  in  such  terms  that  she  could  under- 
stand. 

"This  feeling  Mabyn  has  for  her,"  he  insisted  in 
the  end,  "is  only  a  passing  one.  If  we  can  get  her 
out  of  his  sight  all  will  go  on  as  before." 

Rina  nodded.  Her  inscrutable  face  softened  a 
little,  he  thought.  "I  on'erstan'  now,"  she  said 
quietly.  "So  I  not  go  crazy  wit'  t'inking  about  it." 

Garth  was  glad  he  had  told  her. 

Rina  stood  studying  him  with  her  strange  and 
secret  air.  "You  love  her  ver'  moch,"  she  said  sud- 
denly, pointing  to  Natalie. 

Garth  bent  over  the  sleeping  figure  in  a  way  that 
answered  her  better  than  words. 


222  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I  t'ink  she  love  you  too,"  said  Rina  gravely. 
"When  I  'urt  her,  she  try  not  to  cry  because  it  'urt 
you  so  bad." 

A  slow  red  crept  under  Garth's  skin.  He  hated 
to  betray  himself  under  the  eyes  of  the  red  woman; 
and  he  bustled  about,  averting  his  face  from  her. 
"When  can  she  be  moved?"  he  asked,  brusquely 
changing  the  subject. 

Rina  shook  her  head.  "I  not  know,"  she  said. 
"Maybe  she  have  fever.  Three,  four  week  maybe." 

Garth's  heart  sunk  heavily,  as  he  considered  their 
scanty  supplies,  the  approach  of  winter  —  and,  more 
dangerous  still,  the  fruitful  opportunities  of  conflict 
the  weeks  would  offer  to  four  souls  so  strangely  opposed, 
and  so  strangely  bound  together  in  the  wilderness. 

"What  is  Mabyn  doing  now?"    he  asked  suddenly. 

Rina's  face  instantly  became  as  blank  as  plaster. 
"I  not  talk  to  you  about  him,"  she  said  coolly. 

Garth  was  conscious  of  receiving  a  rebuke. 

"But  I  help  you,"  she  added  presently.  "I  go 
bring  your  outfit  in." 

Before  she  went,  she  brewed  a  draught  for  Natalie 
with  some  of  the  herbs  she  had  brought;  and  instructed 
Garth  to  administer  it  when  she  woke.  For  an  instant 
all  Garth's  suspicions  returned;  and  he  /ooked  at  her 
hard.  Rina,  divining  his  thought,  coolly  lifted  the 
pail  to  her  lips,  and  drank  of  it.  Once  more  he  felt 
himself  rebuked. 

Left  alone,  his  thoughts  reverted  to  Mabyn.     What 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  223 

would  he  have  been  plotting  all  this  time  ?  he  wondered; 
what  stand  would  he  take  in  this  new  posture  of  affairs  ? 
It  was  too  much  to  hope,  he  decided,  that  one  so  selfish 
and  so  jealous  could  be  persuaded  to  sink  his  animosity 
against  Garth,  for  the  purpose  of  serving  Natalie 
while  she  lay  injured.  Garth's  business  had  made 
him  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  workings  of  the 
diseased  ego;  and  he  was  convinced  that  Mabyn, 
if  for  nothing  else,  hated  him  intolerably  for  having 
been  the  spectator  of  his  repulse  by  Natalie. 

As  time  passed,  Natalie  began  to  stir  and  mutter 
in  her  sleep  and  Garth,  bending  over  her,  fearful  of 
fever,  put  the  man  out  of  his  head.  Returning  to  her 
from  the  edge  of  the  lake,  with  cloths  wrung  out  of 
cold  water,  he  found  her  with  wide  eyes  and  flushed 
cheeks. 

"Send  him  away!  Send  him  away!"  she  muttered. 
"I  cannot  have  him  near  me!" 

At  first  he  thought  her  mind  wandered,  but  following 
the  direction  of  her  eyes,  he  saw  the  figure  of  a  man 
skulking  among  the  trees;  and  his  face  grimmed. 
Soothing  her,  he  offered  Rina's  drink;  and  it  had  an 
immediate  effect.  She  dropped  off  to  sleep  again. 
Then  Garth  picked  up  his  gun  and  strode  toward 
Mabyn. 

The  man  waited  for  him  with  an  air  oddly  mixed 
of  fear  and  bravado.  As  Garth  came  close  he  smiled 
in  a  way  that  he  intended  to  be  ingratiating  —  but 
Mabyn's  smile  only  rendered  him  more  hideous. 


224  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Garth's  first  look  made  sure  that  both  his  hands  were 
empty. 

"Is  there  anything  I  can  do?"  Mabyn  asked  with 
apparent  solicitude. 

"Yes,  keep  away  from  here,"  returned  Garth  curtly. 
"If  I  catch  you  within  a  hundred  yards  of  my  camp, 
I'll  wing  you  so  you  won't  move  again  as  long  as  we're 
here." 

Mabyn  assumed  an  aggrieved  expression.  "You 
needn't  take  that  tone,"  he  grumbled.  "I  came  in 
friendliness.  I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  you." 

"I'm  listening,"  said  Garth. 

Mabyn  twisted  uneasily.  "Damn  it!  How  can 
a  man  make  friendly  advances  when  you're  standing 
over  him  with  a  gun!"  he  said. 

"Say  what  you've  got  to  say,  or  clear  out,"  said 
Garth. 

The  aggrieved  air  proving  ineffectual,  Mabyn  sub- 
stituted offended  silence;  offered  to  go;  and  came 
back.  "Well,  look  here!"  he  said  at  last.  "This 
is  it.  Here  are  the  three  of  us  up  here  - 

"Four,"  amended  Garth. 

"Well,  four  if  you  like,"  said  Mabyn.  "We're 
stuck  here  together.  We  can't  afford  to  quarrel. 
We've  got  to  have  some  working  agreement." 

"Is  that  all  ?"   said  Garth  uncompromisingly. 

Mabyn  looked  around  with  the  air  of  a  much-tried 
man  appealing  to  the  bystanders  —  that  they  were 
only  indifferent  trees,  rather  spoiled  the  effect.  "I 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  225 

wouldn't  take  this  from  any  man  if  it  wasn't  that  I 
was  bent  on  avoiding  trouble,"  he  blustered. 

Garth  suppressed  the  scornful  inclination  to  laugh. 

"Look  here,"  began  Mabyn  afresh,  with  a  reason- 
able air.  "I  came  to  offer  you  the  shack  for  Natalie. 
She  can't  sleep  in  the  open  in  her  condition." 

"Much  obliged,"  said  Garth  coolly.  "I  intended 
to  take  it  in  the  first  place.  But  Miss  Bland  refused 
to  allow  herself  to  be  carried  there." 

Mabyn's  eyes  bolted.  His  control  over  his  facial 
muscles  was  imperfect;  and  the  struggle  between  the 
open  character  he  desired  to  convey,  and  the  secret 
feelings  that  tortured  him,  was  plain.  "What  are 
you  going  to  do  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Build  her  a  house,"  said  Garth. 

Mabyn,  turning  his  back,  appeared  to  be  considering. 

"Is  that  all  you  have  to  say  ?"  asked  Garth. 

The  other  turned  a  face  of  obstinate  friendliness 
and  good  will.  "  Look  here  -  '  he  began  all  over. 
"  I  don't  know  your  name  • 

Garth  informed  him. 

"Well,  Pevensey,  I'm  sorry  for  what  passed  this 
morning.  I  regret  what  I  said.  I  was  only  half 
awake;  and  scarcely  knew  what  I  did.  Will  you  over- 
look it?" 

"Talk  is  cheap,"  said  Garth  guardedly.  "I  will 
be  guided  by  your  actions  henceforth."  But  his  voice 
was  milder;  for  an  apology  could  not  help  but  speak 
to  his  sense  of  generosity. 


226  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Mabyn,  encouraged,  amplified  his  penitent,  ingratia- 
ting air.  "As  to  the  future,"  he  said,  " I  mean  to  show 
you.  You'll  soon  be  satisfied !"  He  came  closer.  "  In 
the  meantime  let's  make  a  truce!  Shake  hands  on  it!" 

Garth  thoroughly  distrusted  the  man;  but  he  could 
see  no  harm  to  Natalie  in  accepting  his  offer,  while  pri- 
vately determining  to  relax  none  of  his  vigilance.  It  was 
only  too  true,  as  Mabyn  had  said;  neither  could  afford 
to  quarrel.  Mabyn  had  no  gun,  and  Garth  could  not 
leave  Natalie's  side  for  an  instant. 

"I  am  willing,"  said  Garth  readily.  "But  it's 
understood  this  doesn't  affect  what  I  said  before. 
You  are  not  to  come  within  a  hundred  yards  of  this 
camp!" 

Mabyn  shrugged,  as  at  the  unworthiness  of  Garth's 
suspicions. 

"You  agree  to  it  ?"  Garth  persisted. 

"All  right!"  said  Mabyn  —  a  shade  too  readily. 
"Shake!" 

Garth  shifted  his  gun;  and  advanced  to  take  Mabyn's 
hand.  The  man  could  not  keep  an  ugly  little  gleam 
from  showing  in  his  shifty  gray  eye;  and  Garth  stopped 
abruptly.  Mabyn  sneered.  Garth,  fired  by  one  of 
the  imperious  impulses  of  the  blood  of  youth,  strode 
forward  and  grasped  the  extended  hand  defiantly. 

He  saw  instantly  his  mistake.  Mabyn's  face  was 
suddenly  transfigured  by  the  deadly  hatred  he  had 
long  repressed.  His  right  hand  closed  on  Garth's 
like  a  vice;  and  at  the  same  time  a  knife  slipped  out 


NATALIE    WOUNDED  227 

of  his  sleeve  into  the  other  hand.  He  jerked  the 
surprised  Garth  half-way  round;  and  aimed  a  blow 
between  his  shoulders.  Garth  was  oddly  conscious 
of  the  fresh  marks  of  the  whetstone  on  the  blade  of 
the  knife.  With  the  incredible  swiftness  of  our  subcon- 
scious moves,  he  dropped  his  useless  gun;  and  twisting 
his  body  around,  flung  up  his  free  hand,  and  warded 
the  descending  blow.  Seizing  Mabyn's  wrist,  he  flung 
himself  forward  to  bear  the  other  back. 

It  was  all  very  brief.  Mabyn,  braced  to  receive 
Garth's  weight,  held  his  ground.  Inspired  with  a 
febrile  strength,  he  enjoyed  a  temporary  advantage. 
Unable  to  reach  Garth's  back,  he  thrust  desperately 
at  his  face,  his  neck  —  but  only  stabbed  the  air.  They 
were  locked  together  with  their  arms  crossed  —  surely 
as  strange  a  posture  as  ever  men  fought  in!  But 
Mabyn  had  staked  all  on  the  first  blow;  and  that 
failing,  there  could  be  but  one  result.  His  fictitious 
strength  suddenly  failing,  he  collapsed  in  Garth's  arms. 
Garth  wrenched  his  hand  free  and  hurled  him  to  the 
ground,  where  he  lay,  livid  and  sobbing  for  breath. 
The  attack  had  been  contrived  with  devilish  cunning; 
but  every  design  this  man  undertook  in  life  was  fore- 
doomed to  failure. 

Garth  secured  the  knife;  and  stood  looking  down 
at  the  broken  wretch,  with  strong  waves  of  disgust 
welling  over  him.  He  laughed  briefly. 

"Too  contemptible  to  kill!"  he  said;  and  turned 
on  his  heel. 


XVII 

THE  CLUE  TO  RINA 

RINA  brought  all  four  horses  handily  through 
the  wood,  bringing  up  the  rear  on  the  back 
of  old   Cy.     She   slipped   off  beside   Garth, 
and  looked  in  the  direction  where  Natalie  lay. 

"Still  sleeping,"  Garth  said. 

As  Rina's  eyes  fell  on  him,  they  suddenly  widened; 
and  plain  fear  broke  through  the  mask  of  her  face. 
"'Erbe't  been  here!"  she  said  breathlessly. 

"How  do  you  know  ?"  he  said  in  surprise. 

Rina  pointed  to  his  belt.  "You  got  his  knife!" 
she  said.  "How  you  get  his  knife  ?" 

"  He  tried  to  murder  me  with  it,"  said  Garth,  watch- 
ing her  face  narrowly. 

Rina  had  no  more  thought  for  Natalie.  "Where 
is  he  ?"  she  said  agitatedly.  "Wat  you  do  to  him  ?" 

"I  let  him  go,"  Garth  said  carelessly.  "Murder 
is  not  exactly  in  my  line." 

"  He  try  to  kill  you  an'  you  let  him  go !"  she  breathed 
incredulously.  Plainly  such  magnanimity  was  out- 
side her  ken.  She  walked  away  from  him,  consider- 
ing it. 

228 


THE    CLUE    TO    RINA  229 

Presently  she  came  back  with  a  swift  glide.  "You 
got  to  promise  me  not  to  'urt  'Erbe't!"  she  said, 
threateningly  and  passionately. 

"If  he  attacks  me,  I  defend  myself — and  her," 
Garth  said  coolly. 

Rina  studied  the  ground.  It  was  impossible  for 
him  to  tell  what  was  going  on  behind  her  inscrutable 
eyes.  In  a  moment  she  went  to  Natalie  as  if  nothing 
had  happened;  and  dropping  beside  her,  listened 
attentively  to  her  breathing.  Garth,  ever  watchful, 
followed  her  close.  When  she  arose,  they  moved  off 
a  little  to  avoid  disturbing  the  patient;  and  Rina 
briefly  instructed  Garth  what  he  should  do  during  the 
night. 

Garth,  not  satisfied  with  merely  knowing  what  to 
do,  asked  the  reason  of  her  various  measures;  where- 
upon Rina  became  suddenly  evasive. 

"But  I  must  know  why  you  do  these  things,"  he 
insisted. 

Rina  looked  away.    "  I  not  tell  you,"  she  said  coolly. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  he  demanded,  surprised 
and  frowning. 

Rina  met  his  eyes.  "Nobody  but  me  can  mak' 
her  well,"  she  said  boldly.  "I  mak'  her  well  if  you  not 
'urt  'Erbe't.  If  you  go  after  'Erbe't,  she  can  die.  I 
not  look  at  her  no  more!" 

This  at  least  was  honest;  and  Garth  could  respect 
such  an  opponent.  "He's  safe!"  he  said  coolly. 
"  Provided  he  keeps  away  from  here." 


230  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Rina  vouchsafed  no  comment.  "  I  come  to-morrow," 
she  said  and  disappeared  through  the  trees. 

The  horses  offered  Garth  his  next  problem.  Since 
immediately  they  were  turned  out  they  would  bolt 
for  the  sweet  grass  of  the  prairie  above,  there  was  no 
way  in  which  he  could  secure  them  from  Mabyn,  or 
keep  them  within  reach  against  a  time  of  need.  They 
might  stray  for  miles  over  the  plains  before  he  could 
leave  Natalie  long  enough  to  round  them  up.  But 
there  was  no  help  for  it;  the  beasts  would  all  die  of 
starvation,  if  he  attempted  to  keep  them  in  his  camp. 
There  was  a  little  grass  between  the  willows  and  the 
timber;  and  he  determined  to  keep  old  Cy  picketed 
nearby,  to  be  sure  of  one  mount  in  the  case  of  an 
emergency.  The  other  three  he  hobbled,  hung  a 
bell  around  Emmy's  neck,  and  turned  them  loose. 

He  was  now  able  to  make  Natalie  more  comfortable. 
Putting  up  her  tent,  he  spread  a  bed  of  balsam  within, 
and  her  own  blankets  upon  it.  The  next  time  she 
awoke,  he  carried  her  inside;  and  at  the  door  of  the 
tent,  where  he  could  look  at  her,  and  speak  to  her, 
he  cooked  her  the  best  invalid's  supper  the  grub-box 
and  his  own  skill  could  afford.  This  same  grub-box 
was  an  ever- fresh  cause  of  anxiety  to  him;  allowing 
for  liberal  contributions  from  his  own  gun,  he  could 
not  see  much  more  than  a  week's  supply  for  two. 
This  he  kept  to  himself,  however,  while  he  joked  and 
made  light  of  their  situation  for  Natalie's  benefit. 


THE    CLUE    TO    RINA  231 

She  was  very  quiet;  she  did  not  suffer  much,  she  said; 
but  she  had  little  humour  to  talk.  When  Garth  thought 
of  her,  only  the  day  before,  galloping  over  the  prairie, 
he  ground  his  teeth  afresh.  But  the  silver  lining  of 
this  blackest  cloud  of  his  was  that  in  her  weakness 
she  clung  to  him  unreservedly. 

Some  time  after  supper  she  fell  asleep  again;  and 
Garth  prepared  for  his  night-long  vigil.  His  head 
was  much  too  busy  to  allow  of  any  desire  for  sleep. 
Sitting  in  the  dark,  he  faced  the  situation  open-eyed. 
There  they  were  in  the  remotest  wilderness,  imprisoned 
in  the  narrow  valley  by  Natalie's  injury  for  weeks  to 
come;  with  insufficient  food  and  inclement  weather 
in  prospect,  and  without  the  remotest  chance  of  suc- 
cour from  the  outside.  Moreover,  there  hovered  about 
them  an  implacable  and  half-insane  enemy,  whose 
busy  brain  was  bent  on  Garth's  destruction.  The 
outlook  was  enough  to  unnerve  the  strongest;  there 
were  things  in  it  that  Garth  in  his  courage  could 
only  glance  at,  and  hurriedly  avert  the  eyes  of  his 
mind. 

The  night  was  so  still  he  could  hear  the  breathing 
of  the  horse  at  fifty  paces.  He  had  let  the  fire  die 
down,  for  fear  its  loud  crackling  would  awaken 
Natalie.  Overhead  the  Northern  lights  flung  their 
ragged  pennons  across  the  zenith,  with  a  ghostly  echo 
of  rustling.  He  suddenly  became  conscious  of  dis- 
tant human  voices  in  the  void  of  stillness;  and  pres- 
ently distinguished  the  voice  of  Mabyn.  Rina's 


232  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

answers  he  could  not  hear,  though  he  sensed  a  second 
voice.  The  sound  was  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  hut. 

Garth  was  tempted  by  the  opportunity  to  discover 
at  the  same  time  the  plans  of  his  enemy,  and  Rina's 
true  disposition  toward  himself.  He  glanced  at 
Natalie;  she  had  but  lately  fallen  asleep,  and  was 
sleeping  soundly;  there  were  no  animals  abroad  that 
could  harm  her;  he  need  be  gone  but  half  an  hour. 
The  role  of  eavesdropper  was  not  at  all  attractive  to 
him;  but  he  felt  he  had  no  right  to  refuse  to  use  any 
weapon  that  offered.  Finally  he  fastened  the  flaps 
of  Natalie's  tent,  replenished  the  fire,  and  stole  away 
through  the  trees. 

He  crossed  the  stony  watercourse  to  the  left  of  the 
usual  place  and  mounted  the  slope.  Coming  closer, 
he  satisfied  himself  that  the  speakers  were  sitting  on 
the  bench  at  the  door  of  the  shack.  In  the  darkness 
he  almost  fell  across  the  figure  of  the  little  cayuse, 
prone  in  the  grass.  The  animal  scrambled  to  its 
feet  and  trotted  away.  Garth  paused,  listening,  his 
heart  in  his  throat  —  but  Mabyn's  voice  presently 
went  on  undisturbed. 

He  finally  gained  the  top  of  the  rise;  and  let  him- 
self down  in  the  grass,  distant  some  thirty  feet  from 
them.  A  flash  of  lightning  —  or  even  the  lighting  of 
a  lantern  would  have  revealed  him  clearly. 

He  instantly  understood  that  he  was  the  subject 
of  their  talk. 


THE    CLUE    TO    RINA  233 

"It's  his  life  or  mine,"  in  Mabyn's  blustering  whine 
were  the  first  words  he  distinctly  heard. 

"He  could  kill  you  to-day,  and  he  let  you  go," 
Rina  quietly  returned. 

"That's  a  lie!"  blustered  Mabyn.  "How  do  you 
know  ?"  he  added  inconsequentially. 

"  He  tak'  your  knife  from  you.  I  saw  it  in  his 
belt,"  said  Rina.  "And  he  let  you  go." 

Mabyn  made  no  reply. 

"  He  say  to  me  he  not  'urt  you,  if  you  keep  away 
from  there,"  Rina  went  on. 

"Keep  away!"  Mabyn  fumed.  "This  is  my  place! 
I'll  go  where  I  choose  on  it!  He's  trespassing  on  my 
land!  I've  a  right  to  drive  him  off!  I've  a  right  to 
kill  him  if  he  doesn't  go!" 

"  He  will  hear  you!"  said  Rina  warningly. 

"Let  him  hear  me!"  said  the  man  —  nevertheless 
he  lowered  his  voice.  "They're  a  quarter-mile  off," 
he  added. 

"Listen!"   said  Rina. 

Over  the  lake,  from  an  immeasurable  distance, 
came  throbbing  the  imbecile  laughter  of  a  loon. 

"Loon,  him  three  miles  off,"  said  Rina  significantly. 

Thereafter,  Mabyn  spoke  in  a  whisper;  a  wheedling 
note  crept  into  his  voice.  "That  was  a  good  scheme 
of  yours,  going  to  the  camp  to  set  the  girl's  arm,"  he 
said.  "Now  we  can  find  out  all  they  do!" 

"I  not  go  to  find  out,"  said  Rina  sadly.  "I  go  for 
I  sorry  I  'urt  her.  I  shoot  her  jus'  lak  a  breed  I  am!" 


234  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Mabyn  paid  no  attention  to  this.  "  Keep  your  eyes 
open  when  you're  in  their  camp  every  day,"  he  urged. 
"See  how  much  food  they  have;  find  out  where  he 
keeps  the  shells  for  his  gun.  If  you  could  only  steal 
the  gun!" 

"  He  carry  it  always  on  his  back,"  said  Rina.  "  He 
never  put  it  down." 

"I  know,  he's  on  his  guard  now,"  said  Mabyn. 
"But  if  you  act  friendly  all  the  time,  he'll  forget. 
We've  got  plenty  of  time;  do  nothing  for  a  few  days. 
I'll  keep  away  from  there  too.  He'll  think  it's  all 
right.  Then"  —  Mabyn's  whisper  was  pure  venom  - 
"sneak  up  behind  him  and  knock  him  on  the  head 
with  an  axe!  Choose  a  moment  when  the  girl  is  asleep 
or  delirious.  We  will  throw  his  body  in  the  lake. 
No  one  will  ever  know  how  it  happened!" 

There  was  a  pause. 

"Will  you  do  it  ?"   said  Mabyn  eagerly. 

Rina  remained  silent. 

Mabyn  cursed  her  under  his  breath.  "I  believe  this 
smooth-faced  young  whelp  has  cast  an  eye  on  you 
too,"  he  snarled.  "You're  false  to  me!" 

A  low  cry  was  forced  from  Rina's  lips;  she  made 
a  rapid  move;  and  Garth  understood  that  she  had 
thrown  herself  at  the  man's  feet.  "'Erbe't,  you  know 
you  don'  speak  true,"  she  whispered  painfully.  "You 
my'osban'!  All  men  I  hate,  but  you!" 

"Then  do  what  I  tell  you,"  snarled  Mabyn. 

"'Erbe't!"  she  pleaded  rapidly  and  urgently.     "Let 


THE    CLUE    TO    RINA  235 

them  go!  What  have  they  got  to  do  with  us  ?  To-mor- 
row I  go  to  him.  I  tell  him  how  to  mak'  her  well. 
The  man  will  give  me  a  horse  and  things.  An'  you 
and  I  will  ride  to  the  Rice  River  people.  They  are 
m.y  people.  They  will  give  me  a  gun.  We  will  be 
so  ver'  happy,  and  not  think  of  this  man  and  this  woman 
anymore!" 

"You  can  go,  and  be  damned  to  you!"  said  Mabyn 
sullenly.  "I  stay  on  my  own  place!" 

Garth  understood  then,  that  she  drew  very  close 
to  the  man,  lavish  in  the  expression  of  her  sad  love 
and  timid  caresses,  in  a  desperate  effort  to  move  him. 
He  could  not  hear  it  all;  but  his  cheeks  burned  to  be 
the  intruder  on  such  an  exposure  of  a  woman's  soul  - 
a  white  soul,  he  thought,  whatever  the  colour  of  her 
skin. 

Mabyn  was  utterly  insensible  to  it  all.  In  the  end 
he  became  impatient,  and  flung  her  away  from  him 
with  an  oath.  She  fell  to  the  ground  with  a  soft  thud; 
and  for  a  while  there  was  no  other  sound,  but  the  dread- 
ful, low  catch  of  her  breath,  as  she  sought  to  strangle 
her  sobs. 

"'Erbe't,  if  you  no  love  me  I  die,"  she  breathed. 

"Rid  me  of  this  man  and  I'll  love  you  fast  enough!" 
said  Mabyn  eagerly.  His  breath  came  thick  and 
stertorous.  "Ah!  Let  me  once  grind  my  heel  in 
the  smooth,  sneering  face  of  him!  and  you  shall  do 
what  you  like  with  me!"  Rage  robbed  him  of  speech; 
he  made  mere  brutish  sounds  in  his  throat. 


236  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

By  and  by  he  managed  to  control  himself;  and  his 
voice  resumed  its  crafty,  wheedling  tone.  "Only  do 
what  I  tell  you,  my  Rina,  and  you  shall  know  what 
it  is  to  be  loved  by  a  white  man.  I  shall  have  no 
thought  all  day,  but  of  you!  Up  to  now  you  have 
done  all  the  loving;  I  will  repay  it  twice  over!  You 
shall  be  loved  as  no  red  woman  was  ever  loved  before!" 

"'Erbe't!  'Erbe't!  Don't  mak'  me  do  it!"  she 
whispered  terror-stricken. 

Garth  could  stand  no  more.  Springing  to  his  feet, 
he  strode  forward,  grasping  the  barrel  of  his  rifle  to 
use  it  for  a  club.  Shooting  was  too  merciful  for  such 
a  creature. 

"You  damned  scoundrel!"  he  cried. 

Mabyn  fell  back  against  the  wall  with  a  gasping 
cry  of  fright.  Quick  as  Garth  was,  Rina  was  quicker. 
Before  he  could  reach  the  man,  she  scrambled  over 
the  ground,  and  clutched  him  by  the  knees. 

"Let  him  be!"   she  screamed.     "I  kill  you!" 

Garth  struggled  vainly  to  free  himself.  Finally 
bending  over  and  seizing  her  shoulders,  he  thrust  her 
away.  But  the  blow  he  again  aimed  at  Mabyn  never 
descended;  for  with  incredible  swiftness  Rina  gained 
her  feet,  and  darted  down  hill. 

"I  lull  her!"   she  shrilled. 

A  sickening  fear  gripped  Garth's  heart,  instantly 
obliterating  all  thought  of  Mabyn.  He  dashed  after 
Rina,  nerved  to  a  desperate  fleetness.  She  knew  the 
ground  better  than  he;  and  hampered,  moreover,  by 


THE    CLUE    TO    RINA  237 

the  weight  of  his  gun,  he  despaired  of  overtaking  the 
moccasined  savage.  But  at  the  watercourse  the  strange 
creature  stopped  dead;  and  waited  for  him  to  come 
up. 

"  Go  back  to  your  white  woman ! "  she  cried  stormily. 
"If  you  'urt  him,  I  pull  her  bandage  off,  and  beat  her 
arm  till  she  die  of  pain!" 


XVIII 

MABYN  MAROONED 

WHEN  Natalie  awoke,  it  was  a  gray  and  hag- 
gard Garth  she  saw  through  the  raised  flaps 
of  her  tent.  His  arms,  folded  on  his  knees, 
bore  up  his  chin;  and  he  stared  before  him,  still  pur- 
suing the  narrow  round  of  his  troublous  thoughts. 
He  was  the  gainer  for  his  excursion,  by  valuable  infor- 
mation —  but  he  was  no  nearer  the  solution  of  it  all. 

Natalie  partly  raised  herself  on  her  good  arm. 
"My  poor  Garth!"  she  said  softly.  "How  very  tired 
you  are!" 

His  weary  eyes  lighted  up.  "  I'm  all  right,"  he  cried. 
"And  how  are  you  ?" 

"Splendid!"  she  said,  matching  his  tone — while 
her  face  was  drawn  with  pain.  "  Come  in,"  she  added 
softly. 

He  sat  a  little  diffidently  on  the  ground  beside  her; 
Natalie's  room  —  though  its  walls  were  of  canvas, 
was  a  sacred  place  to  him  when  she  was  in  it. 

"Look  at  me!"  she  commanded. 

He  turned  his  grave,  smiling  eyes  down  on  her. 
In  spite  of  difficulties,  dangers  and  weariness,  he  had  to 

238 


MABYN    MAROONED  239 

smile  when  he  looked  at  her;  he  loved  her  so!  His  eyes 
were  full  of  it. 

Natalie's  eyes  fell;  her  hand  crept  into  his.  "You 
may  tell  me  to-day,"  she  whispered. 

He  understood.  "Oh,  my  Natalie!"  he  murmured 
deeply.  "I  love  you!  It  breaks  my  heart  to  see  you 
suffer!" 

She  caught  up  his  hand,  and  pressed  it  to  her  cheek. 
"  I  am  cured ! "  she  whispered  with  a  lift  in  her  voice. 

"There  is  something  I  want  you  to  do  for  me," 
she  said  presently. 

"Anything  in  the  world!"  he  cried. 

"No!"  she  said.  "This  is  only  a  little  thing  —  but 
you  mustn't  laugh!" 

He  immediately  smiled. 

"I  want  to  feel,  for  a  moment,  that  I  have  helped 
you  too,"  she  whispered.  "Put  your  head  down  on 
my  good  shoulder." 

He  flung  himself  down  beside  her,  and  laid  his  head 
where  she  bid.  Her  breath  was  warm  on  his  cheek. 
He  slipped  his  over-heavy  burden,  and  glided  into 
Paradise  for  awhile. 

"  My  brave,  brave  Garth,"  she  whispered  in  his  ear. 
"All  my  heart  is  yours!  I  thought  about  this  last 
night  —  every  time  I  woke.  I  thought  we  might  steal 
one  such  moment.  I  thought,  what  if  something  hap- 
pened to  you,  or  to  me,  and  we  had  never  known  it!" 

She  tried  to  tempt  him  to  sleep  a  while,  but  Garth, 
fearful  of  tiring  her,  and  with  his  responsibilities 


240  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

pressing  on  him,  drew  himself  away.  He  arose, 
better  refreshed,  he  vowed,  than  by  all  the  nights  of 
sleep  he  had  ever  had  in  his  life. 

As  he  rose,  their  lips  met,  once  and  briefly. 

Garth's  first  task  after  breakfast  was  to  clear  the 
growth  of  willows  that  obstructed  their  access  to  the 
lake.  The  little  island  was  framed  squarely  in  the 
centre  of  the  opening  made  by  his  axe;  and  off  to  the 
left,  across  an  estuary  formed  at  the  mouth  of  the  water- 
course, Mabyn's  shack  stood  on  top  of  its  cut-bank  in 
plain  view. 

At  sight  of  the  convenient  island,  Garth  was  struck 
by  an  idea.  He  examined  it  attentively.  It  lay 
something  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  offshore;  and  a 
triangle  might  have  been  drawn  between  his  camp, 
the  island  and  Mabyn's  shack,  of  which  the  three  sides 
would  have  been  of  about  equal  length.  The  island 
was  about  three  acres  in  extent;  and  completely  ringed 
about  with  willow  bushes.  In  the  centre,  two  or  three 
cottonwood  trees  elevated  their  heads  above  the  willows. 

Later,  he  asked  Natalie  casually:  "Could  Mabyn 
swim,  when  you  knew  him,  do  you  remember  ?" 

"He  could  not,"  she  said  instantly.  "In  fact  he 
had  a  childish  horror  of  the  water." 

Garth  turned  his  head  to  hide  his  satisfaction;  and 
his  plan  began  to  take  shape. 

While  the  sun  was  yet  low,  Rina,  true  to  her  promise 
came  to  attend  upon  Natalie.  There  was  no  change 


MABYN    MAROONED  £41 

in  her  manner;  her  unreadable  eyes  expressed  no 
consciousness  of  the  events  of  the  night  before.  She 
questioned  Natalie  in  her  best  professional  way. 
It  was  not  yet  necessary  to  disturb  the  dressings  on  the 
arm;  but  she  volunteered  to  do  Natalie's  hair;  and 
what  other  offices  would  contribute  to  her  comfort. 
Garth,  convinced  now  that  he  had  as  sure  a  hold  on 
her  as  she  on  him,  unhesitatingly  allowed  her  to  enter 
the  tent  alone.  But  he  kept  within  earshot. 

He  necessarily  overheard  part  of  their  talk.  Natalie, 
it  seemed,  had  a  method  of  her  own  with  Rina.  Obliter- 
ating the  fact  that  she  had  received  her  injury  at  the 
breed's  hands,  she  was  unaffectedly  grateful  for  all 
that  was  done  for  her;  and  what  was  more  subtle  - 
or  kinder  —  she  treated  Rina  as  her  equal,  as  one  who 
understood  in  herself  the  thoughts  and  the  instincts  of 
a  lady.  Garth,  with  the  clue  he  possessed  to  the 
unhappy  heart  of  the  girl,  could  not  tell  which  he  ought 
to  commend  the  more,  Natalie's  mother-wit,  or  her 
generosity. 

Rina  apparently  sought  to  steel  her  breast  against 
the  other's  overtures.  For  the  most  part  she  main- 
tained a  hardy  silence;  and  when  she  did  speak,  it 
was  in  sullen  monosyllables. 

Issuing  out  of  the  tent,  she  surprised  Garth  by  asking, 
as  one  who  demands  a  right,  to  take  old  Cy.  She 
needed  an  herb  for  Natalie,  she  said,  that  could  only  be 
procured  on  the  shore  of  a  slough  five  miles  away. 
Garth  was  prompt  with  his  permission.  There  was 


242  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

a  possibility  that  it  was  merely  a  pretext  to  deprive  them 
of  the  horse;  but  his  heart  leaped  at  the  chance  of 
getting  Rina  out  of  the  way  for  an  hour.  It  was  all 
he  needed  to  complete  his  plan;  and  it  had  seemed  an 
insuperable  bar.  If  she  turned  the  horse  out,  he  would 
come  back  anyway;  for  Cy  was  the  town-bred  horse, 
always  waiting  anxiously  about  camp  for  his  vanished 
stable;  and  Garth  had  further  trained  him  to  stick  to 
the  outfit,  with  judicious  presents  of  salt  and  tobacco. 

Rina,  disdaining  a  saddle,  scrambled  on  his  back, 
and  rode  off.  Garth  waited,  not  without  anxiety,  to  see 
what  direction  she  would  take.  She  presently  reap- 
peared, mounting  the  rise  to  the  shack.  Pausing  briefly 
at  the  door,  apparently  to  speak  within,  she  continued 
her  way  up  the  slope  behind;  and,  gaining  the  prairie, 
disappeared  over  the  brow. 

Garth  instantly  put  himself  in  motion.  He  had  his 
compunctions  in  thus  moving  against  Rina  while 
she  was  absent  on  an  errand  for  Natalie;  but  he 
consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that  Rina,  with 
all  she  could  do,  had  still  a  heavy  score  to  pay  off. 
He  told  Natalie  what  he  was  about  to  do;  and  at  her 
earnest  pleading  carried  her  out  of  the  tent,  and  propped 
her  partly  upright  at  the  edge  of  the  lake  where  she 
would  be  able  to  see  him.  Then,  looking  to  his  gun, 
he  set  off  a  second  time  for  the  shack. 

From  the  circumstance  of  Rina's  pausing  at  the  door, 
he  was  well  assured  that  Mabyn  was  within.  He  had 
marked  that  the  door  stood  open.  On  his  way,  he 


MABYN    MAROONED  243 

paused  to  examine  the  ancient  dugout  lying  at  the 
mouth  of  the  watercourse;  and  found  it  in  a  sufficiently 
seaworthy  condition  to  answer  his  purpose.  A  paddle 
lay  in  the  bottom. 

Garth  ascended  the  grassy  slope  swiftly  and  noise- 
lessly; and  making  a  detour  around  the  window, 
presented  himself  suddenly  at  the  door.  Mabyn  was 
revealed  to  him  sprawling  on  his  blankets  in  the  corner, 
plucking  at  his  face,  and  scowling  at  the  rafters,  he, 
too,  no  doubt,  plotting  and  scheming.  When  the 
armed  shadow  fell  across  the  floor  of  his  shack,  he 
started  to  his  elbow;  his  eyes  widened,  his  flesh  blanched 
and  a  visible  trembling  seized  his  limbs. 

"What  do  you  want  ?"  he  contrived  to  stammer. 

Strong  disgust  seized  Garth  again;  so  despicable  an 
adversary  shamed  his  own  manhood.  He  shifted  his 
gun  significantly. 

"Get  up!"  he  said. 

Mabyn  dragged  himself  to  his  hands  and  knees. 
It  was  some  moments  before  he  could  control  himself 
sufficiently  to  stand  upright. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  me?"  he  kept 
muttering. 

Garth  stepped  backward.  "Come  outside!"  he 
commanded. 

Mabyn  obeyed,  making  a  circuit  of  the  walls  for 
support.  His  eyes  were  always  riveted  on  the  gun;  and 
however  slightly  it  was  moved,  he  experienced  a  fresh 
spasm  of  fear. 


244  TWOONTHETRAIL 

"Face  about!"  ordered  Garth;  "and  walk  to  the 
mouth  of  the  creek!" 

Mabyn  became  even  paler.  His  skin  was  like  white 
paper  on  which  ashes  have  been  rubbed,  leaving  streaks 
and  patches  of  gray.  "Would  you  shoot  me  in  the 
back?"  he  said  shrilly.  "An  unarmed  man!  I  will 
not  turn  my  back!" 

"Then  walk  backward!"  said  Garth,  with  his 
laconic  start  of  laughter. 

Mabyn  went  like  a  crab  down  the  rise,  with  his  head 
over  his  shoulder,  a  ludicrous  and  deplorable  figure. 
He  was  unable  to  drag  his  eyes  from  the  gun,  conse- 
quently he  stumbled  and  lurched  over  every  obstacle. 
Once  he  fell  flat;  and  a  sharp  scream  of  fright  was 
forced  from  him.  Garth  sickened  at  the  sight,  while 
he  laughed.  He  had  to  give  him  a  minute  in  which 
to  recover  himself. 

Mabyn,  scarcely  coherent,  ceaselessly  begged  for 
mercy.  "Do  not  kill  me!"  he  whimpered.  "I  cant 
die!  Oh,  God!  Not  like  this!  I  never  had  a  chance! 
You  kill  Natalie  if  you  kill  me  —  the  breed  will  fix 
her!  —  and  my  mother!  You'll  have  three  murders 
on  your  soul!  I  cant  die  yet!" 

"Get  up!"  commanded  Garth. 

Reaching  the  edge  of  the  water,  he  ordered  him  into 
the  dugout. 

Mabyn  fell  on  his  knees  on  the  stones.  "Not  in  the 
water!  Not  in  the  water!"  he  shrilled.  "Kill  me  here!" 

"No  one  is  going  to  kill  you,"  said  Garth  with  scorn- 


MABYN    MAROONED  245 

ful  patience.  "Do  what  you're  told,  and  you'll  not 
be  hurt!" 

Mabyn  darted  a  furtive  look  of  hope  and  suspicion 
in  Garth's  face.  He  got  up. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  me  ?"  he  muttered. 

"  Put  you  on  the  island,"  said  Garth  coolly. 

"I'll  starve,"  he  whined. 

"  Food  will  be  brought  you  regularly,  as  long  as  you 
obey  orders,"  said  Garth. 

Mabyn,  his  extreme  terror  subsiding,  showed  an 
inclination  to  temporize.  "Let  me  get  a  few  things," 
he  begged.  His  eyes  wandered  to  the  hill  over  which 
Rina  had  disappeared. 

Garth  was  anxious  on  the  same  score.  He  fingered 
the  trigger  of  his  gun.  "In  with  you!"  he  said. 

Mabyn  jumped  to  obey. 

Garth,  sitting  in  the  bow  with  his  weapon  in  his  arms, 
faced  Mabyn;  and  forced  him  to  wield  the  paddle. 
Mabyn,  seeing  that  he  did  mean  to  put  him  on  the 
island,  realized  there  had  been  no  occasion  for  his 
brutish  terror;  but  instead  of  feeling  any  shame  for 
the  self-betrayal,  he  characteristically  added  it  to  his 
score  against  Garth.  His  gray  eyes  contracted  in  an 
agony  of  impotent  hate.  At  that  moment  unspeakable 
atrocities  committed  on  Garth's  body  would  not  have 
satisfied  Mabyn's  lust  to  destroy  his  flesh.  Any  move 
on  his  part  would  have  overturned  the  crazy  dugout, 
but,  shivering  at  the  sight  of  the  water,  he  was  unable  to 
take  that  way. 


246  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Garth,  wary  of  the  furtive  gleam  in  the  man's  eye, 
sprang  to  his  feet  the  instant  they  touched  the  island, 
and  leaped  out,  careful  never  to  turn  his  back.  He 
forced  Mabyn  to  retire  a  dozen  paces,  while  he  took 
the  place  he  vacated  in  the  stern;  and  then  he  ordered 
him  to  push  off. 

At  the  prospect  of  being  left  alone,  Mabyn's  flesh 
failed  him  again.  He  clung  to  the  bow  of  the  canoe, 
and  gabbled  anew  for  mercy.  Garth,  wearying  of  it 
all,  suddenly  sent  a  shot  over  his  head.  His  weapon, 
silent  and  smokeless,  had  an  effect  of  horrible  deadliness. 
Mabyn,  with  a  moan  of  fear,  pushed  the  canoe  off, 
and  sank  back  on  the  grass  of  the  islet. 

Exchanging  his  gun  for  the  paddle,  Garth  hastened 
back  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  pausing  only  to  wave 
his  hat  reassuringly  at  Natalie,  whom  he  could  see 
reclining  on  her  grassy  couch.  An  essential  part  of 
his  plan  was  yet  to  be  effected;  and  he  knew  not  how 
soon  Rina  might  return.  Hastily  ransacking  the  cabin, 
he  gathered  together  all  their  meagre  rations;  flour, 
sugar,  beans,  tea  and  pork;  and  he  likewise  comman- 
deered everything  that  might  be  turned  to  use  for  a 
weapon;  an  axe,  a  chisel,  and  all  knives.  Three  trips 
up  and  down  the  hill  conveyed  it  to  the  dugout. 
Reembarking,  he  had  no  sooner  brought  it  all  to  his 
own  camp  than  Natalie's  sharp  eyes  discovered  Rina 
returning  on  the  distant  hill. 

Garth  carried  Natalie  into  the  tent  again;  and  nerved 
himself  to  await  the  inevitable  scene.  Meanwhile  he 


MABYN    MAROONED  247 

could  see  Rina  alight  at  the  door,  search  the  cabin 
hastily,  and  dart  about  outside,  like  a  distracted  ant 
returning  to  find  her  dwelling  rifled.  She  followed  the 
tracks  down  to  the  water's  edge,  dragging  the  horse 
after  her.  Seeking  over  the  water,  she  soon  discovered 
the  dugout  lying  at  Garth's  camp;  whereupon  she 
clambered  on  the  horse  again.  Presently  she  came 
crashing  through  the  bush. 

This  was  a  vastly  different  kind  of  antagonist,  that 
slipped  from  the  horse  and  faced  him  with  blazing  eyes. 
Rina  regarded  the  weapon  in  his  hands  with  as  little 
respect  as  if  it  had  been  a  pop-gun.  But  there  was 
nothing  baffling  about  her  now,  she  was  just  the  furious 
woman  common  to  any  shade  of  skin. 

"Where  is  he?"  she  cried  —  and  without  waiting 
for  any  answer,  emptied  the  hissing  ewer  of  her  wrath 
over  Garth's  head.  Her  careful  English  was  drowned 
in  a  flood  of  guttural  Cree  —  she  fished  it  up  only  to 
curse  him. 

Garth  received  the  impact  in  silence,  for  at  first  she 
was  in  no  condition  to  take  in  the  answers  she  demanded. 
He  suddenly  realized,  as  a  man  thinks  of  an  interesting 
circumstance  that  does  not  concern  him  at  all,  how 
beautiful  she  was;  and  the  thought  gave  him  greater 
patience. 

Rina,  bethinking  herself  at  last  that  her  Cree  was 
wasted  on  him,  went  back  to  English.  "You  wait!" 
she  cried  threateningly.  "Barn-bye,  her  bone,  him 
grow  together,  and  she  all  the  time  cry  of  pain !  Then 


248  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

you  want  me  bad,  and  I  not  come!  She  will  have 
fever  and  die!"  She  passionately  threw  down  the 
leaves  she  had  brought  and  ground  them  under  her 
heel. 

"Mabyn  is  unhurt!"  Garth  repeated  patiently  more 
than  once.  "  I  put  him  on  the  island." 

At  last  it  seemed  to  reach  her.  "What  for  you  do 
that  ?"  she  demanded. 

"He  is  always  trying  to  kill  me,"  he  said.  "I 
have  only  put  him  where  he  can  do  no  harm!" 

"I  tak'  him  off!"  she  cried  defiantly.  "I  mak' 
a  raft!  You  can't  stop  me!" 

"I  have  seized  all  the  food,"  said  Garth  quietly. 
"You  will  get  none  for  him  unless  he  stays  where 
he  is." 

Rina's  anger  stilled  and  concentrated.  "You  devil !" 
she  hissed. 

Garth  turned  away.  "When  you  are  yourself," 
he  said  coolly,  "  I  will  talk  to  you  plainly  and  honestly 
about  us  all." 

"I  not  talk  with  you!"  she  stormed.  "You  tell 
lies  to  me !  I  not  come  again  —  till  some  time  you 
sleep  — then  I  come  and  kill  you!" 

He  faced  her  with  a  sudden  imperiousness  she  could 
not  ignore.  "Then  the  way  is  made  open  for  Mabyn 
to  come  to  her!"  he  cried.  "Where  will  you  be  then  ? 
—  thrown  on  the  ground,  as  you  were  yesterday!" 

The  shot  told.  Her  arms  dropped,  she  visibly  paled. 
The  white  man's  blood  in  Rina's  cheeks  betrayed  her 


MABYN    MAROONED  249 

at  the  moments  when  most  she  desired  to  secrete  her 
heart.  She  lowered  her  head  to  hide  her  stricken 
eyes  from  him.  Suddenly  she  turned  and  fled  through 
the  trees. 

Garth  was  beginning  to  believe  that  Rina  after  all 
was  not  so  different  from  her  white  sisters;  if  so,  he 
thought  she  would  come  back.  Natalie,  who  had 
overheard  all  that  passed,  said  so  too.  Garth  wished 
to  carry  Natalie  out  of  the  tent,  that  she  might  help 
him  work  with  the  girl;  but  Natalie,  with  better  wisdom, 
said  no,  that  Rina  would  be  more  tractable  if  she  were 
out  of  sight. 

Meanwhile  he  set  to  work  with  an  air  of  unconcern 
he  was  far  from  feeling  —  there  were  a  hundred  ways 
this  plan  of  his  might  miscarry,  and  only  one  way  it 
could  succeed!  He  tied  old  Cy  to  his  stake  again; 
and  carefully  gathered  up  what  remained  of  the  herbs 
Rina  had  cast  on  the  ground.  He  unloaded  the  seized 
supplies  and  made  a  temporary  cache  under  a  piece 
of  sail-cloth. 

By  and  by,  while  he  was  so  engaged,  he  became 
aware  that  Rina  was  hovering  about  among  the  trees. 
He  went  on  with  his  task,  carefully  avoiding  any  notice 
of  her.  She  approached  by  devious  stages,  like  a 
child  drawn  against  its  will.  When  it  became 
impossible  longer  to  conceal  herself,  she  came  into  the 
open  with  her  old,  wistful,  sullen,  inscrutable  face. 
Garth  went  about  his  work,  displaying  no  anxiety  to 
treat.  He  made  her  speak  first. 


250  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"What  you  want  say  to  me?"  she  asked  at  last, 
feigning  supreme  indifference. 

"Sit  down,"  he  said. 

She  dropped  obediently  on  the  grass;  and  averted 
her  head.  She  did  not  squat  like  the  other  red  people; 
but  reclined,  supporting  herself  on  one  hand,  much  as 
Natalie  might  have  done. 

Garth  lit  his  pipe,  considering  what  simple,  figurative 
form  of  words  would  best  appeal  to  her  under- 
standing. 

"I  do  not  wish  Mabyn  harm,"  he  began  mildly. 
"He  is  nothing  to  me.  My  heart  knows  only  one 
wish  —  to  make  her  well,  and  to  take  her  back  safely 
to  her  friends  outside.  To  accomplish  that,  I  will 
let  nothing  stop  me!" 

He  paused  to  let  it  sink  in.  Rina  gave  no  sign  of 
having  even  heard. 

"That  is  your  wish,  too,"  he  continued.  "You 
want  her  away  from  here.  She  and  I  are  nothing  to 
you.  You  were  happy  before  we  came !" 

She  darted  a  startled  look  at  the  man  who  could  so 
well  read  her  feelings. 

"Mabyn  is  mad  because  she  will  not  have  him!" 
Garth  went  on.  "  He  is  always  crazy  for  what  he  can- 
not have." 

She  turned  her  head  again  with  the  look  that  said 
so  plainly,  "  How  did  you  know  that  ?" 

"When  we  get  her  away,  he  will  soon  forget.  All 
will  be  as  it  was  before!" 


MABYN    MAROONED  251 

She  maintained  her  obstinate  silence. 

"Do  I  not  speak  true  words?"  Garth  challenged. 

She  evaded  the  question.  "  If  you  go  out,  you  send 
die  police  after  him,"  she  muttered. 

He  saw  Mabyn's  hand  here.  "I  will  not,"  he  said 
quickly.  "  I  give  you  my  word  on  that !" 

She  looked  at  him  incredulously.  She  did  not  under- 
stand the  pledge. 

"There's  my  hand  on  it,"  said  Garth,  offering  it. 

Rina  gravely  laid  her  own  in  it,  and  let  him  wag 
it  up  and  down.  This  form  of  binding  an  agreement 
she  knew. 

Still  she  had  not  committed  herself  to  anything; 
and  Garth  paused,  determined  to  make  her  speak  before 
he  went  on. 

She  favoured  him  at  last  with  a  walled  glance  purely 
savage.  "Let  'Erbe't  go  off  the  island,"  she  said 
indifferently.  Clearly  she  asked  it  more  with  the  idea 
to  see  what  he  would  say,  than  with  any  hope  of  his 
agreeing. 

"I  will  not  do  that,"  said  Garth  firmly.  "Night 
and  day  he  would  be  plotting  to  kill  me.  Night  and 
day  he  would  be  driving  you  on  to  do  it  for  him.  You 
would  try  to  do  it.  You  cannot  say  no  to  him!  And 
if  you  did  bring  me  down  -  '  Garth  sunk  his  voice 
-"all,  all  would  be  lost!  —  Mabyn  and  you  and 
Natalie  and  I !" 

Her  eyes  sought  his  with  a  poignant  glance;  and 
she  paled  again.  He  felt  he  had  made  an  impression. 


252  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"I  will  treat  him  kindly,"  he  said,  seeking  to  follow 
up  his  advantage.  "You  shall  go  to  the  shack  now  for 
everything  he  needs;  and  we  will  take  it  to  him." 

"Can  I  spik  with  him?'*  asked  Rina  in  a  low  tone. 

Garth  rejoiced  —  it  was  the  first  token  of  submission. 
"For  five  minutes  by  my  watch,"  he  said. 


XIX 

GRYLLS  REDIVIVUS 

ON  THE  next  day  but  one  Natalie's  condition 
took  a  sharp  turn  for  the  worse;  and  for  many 
days  thereafter,  Garth  put  every  other  thought 
out  of  his  head.     She  fell  into  a  high  fever  and  suffered 
incessantly  and  cruelly.     At  this  call,  Rina  showed  forth 
in  colours  wholly  admirable;  day  or  night  she  seldom 
left  her  patient's  side;  she  was  never  at  a  loss  what  to 
do;   and   Garth   comforted   himself  with   the  thought 
that  Natalie  could  scarcely  have  had  better  care  any- 
where. 

During  these  busy  days  Rina  appeared  to  forget  her 
own  heartache  in  a  measure;  and  never  once  on  the 
occasion  of  their  daily  trip  to  the  island  (Garth  forcing 
her  to  accompany  him)  did  she  again  express  a  wish 
to  speak  to  Mabyn.  At  their  approach  Mabyn  always 
retreated;  and  they  were  accustomed  to  set  his  rations 
down  on  the  shore  and  immediately  go  back. 

But  Garth  could  not  trust  the  breed  unreservedly, 
and  unceasing  vigilance  was  his  portion.  He  had 
little  enough  sleep  before,  and  now  he  strove  to  do 
without  it  altogether.  For  three  days  and  three  nights 

253 


254  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

he  did  not  close  his  eyes.  On  the  fourth  day,  warned 
by  his  tortured,  wavering  brain  that  it  must  be  either 
sleep  or  madness,  he  took  his  fate  in  his  hands  and 
lay  down  on  top  of  the  cache,  with  his  gun  beside  him. 

He  was  unconscious  for  nearly  twelve  hours.  When 
he  awoke  it  was  to  find  Rina's  eyes  fixed  upon  him 
strangely.  He  sprang  up,  and  she  turned  away  her 
head.  He  could  not  read  that  expression  —  still  he 
had  lain  there  at  her  mercy  and  she  had  spared  him. 
Neither  had  she  liberated  Mabyn  from  the  island, 
for  Garth  could  see  him  moving  about.  He  began  to 
hope  that  his  arguments  had  real  weight  with  the 
breed;  and  little  by  little,  under  pressure  of  his  great 
need,  he  began  to  trust  her. 

But  when  the  dread  promontory  was  weathered  at 
last,  and  Natalie,  a  wraith  of  her  blooming  self,  awoke 
in  her  right  senses,  Rina  changed  again,  resuming  her 
old  sullen,  moody  self;  and  all  his  work  was  undone. 
It  was  clear  the  unfortunate  girl  was  dragged  ceaselessly 
back  and  forth  between  her  new-fledged  soul  and  the 
old  savage  impulses  of  her  blood.  She  learned  to 
love  the  irresistible  Natalie  whom  she  had  snatched 
back  from  death  —  but  she  likewise  hated  her;  hated 
her  blindly  because  Mabyn  loved  her;  and  incon- 
sistently, but  naturally,  too,  hated  her  because  she 
despised  Mabyn.  The  same  with  Garth;  over  and 
over  she  unconsciously  showed  she  trusted  him;  but 
her  blood  still  rebelled  because  he  was  Mabyn's  enemy; 
and  he  would  sometimes  find  her  eyes  fixed  on  him 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  255 

in  a  quickly  veiled  expression  of  savage,  implacable 
hatred. 

On  the  first  day  of  his  imprisonment,  Garth,  under 
threat  of  withholding  supplies,  had  forced  Mabyn  to 
cut  down  the  willows  fringing  the  hither  side  of  the 
island;  and  his  movements  about  his  fire  and  tepee 
were  in  plain  view  of  those  on  shore.  Concealed  from 
him  by  a  tree,  Rina  would  often  sit  by  the  hour,  watch- 
ing him  wistfully.  "God  knows  what  course  her  harried 
brain  pursues!"  Garth,  observing  her,  thought  —  "if 
she  thinks  at  all!"  One  thing  was  sure :  under  the  strain 
of  continued  separation,  her  resistance  to  Mabyn's 
evil  suggestions  was  gradually  breaking  down. 

Meanwhile  Garth  was  straining  every  nerve  to 
complete  the  shack  that  was  to  be  at  once  their  habita- 
tion and  their  fortress.  Within  the  shelter  of  its  walls 
he  hoped  to  sleep  at  peace  again.  His  nerves  were 
stretched  like  violin  strings  from  the  lack  of  it;  for  all 
he  could  permit  himself  was  an  hour  or  two  in  the 
morning  while  Natalie  was  awake  and  could  warn  him. 
All  afternoon  he  chopped  pine  trees,  which  old  Cy 
with  an  improvised  harness  dragged  into  camp;  and 
far  into  the  night,  until  overtaken  with  complete 
exhaustion,  he  trimmed  his  logs,  squared  the  ends, 
and  lifted  them  into  place. 

It  was  their  second  red-letter  day,  when  the  last  sod 
was  dropped  into  place  on  the  roof,  and  Garth  carried 
Natalie  inside.  Strictly  considered,  the  house  was  not 
very  much  to  brag  about,  perhaps;  for  it  slanted  this 


256  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

way  and  that  like  the  first  pothooks  in  a  child's  copy- 
book; but  Garth,  fired  by  Natalie's  enthusiastic  praises, 
could  not  have  been  prouder  if  he  had  completed  the 
Taj  Mahal. 

One  end  had  been  partitioned  off  for  Natalie's 
room;  and  in  finishing  this  part  Garth  had  spent  all 
his  pains.  The  floor  was  made  of  small  logs,  filled 
and  plastered  with  clay,  which  he  had  hardened  by 
building  fires  upon  it;  and  had  then  strewn  rushes 
over  the  whole.  There  was  a  rough  bunk  in  one  corner, 
with  a  low  table  by  its  side  —  the  latest  thing  in  rustics, 
the  maker  explained.  There  was  a  tiny  window  high 
up  on  the  side  overlooking  the  lake;  it  had  no  glass, 
but  a  stout  shutter  swinging  on  wooden  pins,  and 
which  fastened  with  a  strong  wooden  bar.  But  the 
crowning  feature  of  the  room,  constructed  with  infinite 
pains  after  countless  failures,  was  the  fireplace  in  the 
corner.  Garth  deprecated  it;  it  wasn't  much  of  a 
fireplace;  only  a  sort  of  little  arched  doorway  of  baked 
clay,  so  narrow  the  logs  had  to  stand  upright  in  it, 
making  cooking  very  difficult  —  but  when  Natalie 
saw  the  flames  curling  up  the  chimney  in  the  most 
natural  way  possible,  she  set  up  a  feeble  crow  of 
delight. 

The  balance  of  the  interior  was  to  serve  for  Garth's 
room  and  storeroom  combined.  It  had  a  very  small 
door,  also  on  the  lake  side;  but  he  could  not  afford 
a  window  beside;  and  he  also  saved  himself  the  trouble 
of  flooring  it.  The  door  was  constructed  in  the  same 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  257 

manner  as  the  shutter,  of  matched  poles  strongly 
braced  behind,  and  further  strengthened  with  rawhide 
lashings. 

Natalie  had  Garth  hang  a  spare  blanket  over  the 
doorway  between  the  two  rooms;  and  she  produced  a 
shawl  to  serve  for  a  table  cloth.  After  supper,  when 
they  locked  themselves  in  and  heaped  up  the  fire, 
Natalie  propped  up  on  her  couch,  and  Garth  sitting 
on  a  stool,  smoking  by  especial  request  —  it  was  as 
snug  as  Heaven,  Natalie  said.  The  nights  had  been 
growing  dreadfully  keen  of  late;  and  poor  Natalie 
wrapped  in  all  the  blankets  they  possessed  had  never- 
theless more  than  once  lain  awake  with  the  cold.  But 
now,  within  thick  walls  —  what  matter  if  they  were 
out  of  the  perpendicular  ?  —  and  under  a  tight  roof, 
with  the  flames  leaping  briskly  up  the  chimney,  no  king 
in  his  palace  ever  experienced  such  a  sense  of  opulent 
and  all-sufficing  luxury  as  Garth  and  Natalie  the 
first  night  in  their  miserable  shack. 

This  was  the  fourteenth  day  after  Natalie's  accident. 
Every  day  after  the  first  week  had  shown  a  slight  im- 
provement in  her  condition;  and  every  day  had  there- 
fore lessened  the  hold  Rina  had  over  them;  until  now 
Garth  felt,  should  it  be  necessary,  he  could  bring  the 
patient  safely  back  to  health  unaided.  Rina  knew  this 
too;  and  became  daily  more  morose  and  sullen  in  her 
demeanour.  To  separate  her  longer  from  Mabyn 
would  be,  Garth  felt,  simply  to  promote  an  explosion. 
Besides,  sufficiently  housed  now,  well  armed,  and 


258  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

with  the  food  safely  stored,  he  felt  strong  enough  to  be 
merciful.  On  the  night  they  moved  into  the  shack 
he  pointed  out  the  canoe  to  Rina,  telling  her  that 
henceforth  she  was  free  to  use  it  as  she  would.  He 
would  go  to  the  island  no  more,  he  added;  but  Rina 
might  come  every  day  for  rations  for  both  —  as  long 
as  Mabyn  remained  where  he  was. 

He  hoped  by  this  to  incite  the  energetic  Rina  into 
planning  Mabyn's  escape  from  the  island.  They 
could  catch  a  couple  of  horses  and  ride  to  their  friends 
at  the  distant  Settlement,  or  where  they  would.  He 
felt  he  could  trust  Rina,  if  she  ever  got  Mabyn  among 
her  own  people,  to  keep  him  from  coming  back.  Thus 
he  would  at  the  same  stroke  be  rid  of  them,  and  con- 
serve his  rapidly  diminishing  stores.  It  was  no  great 
matter  if  they  drove  off  all  the  horses,  for  he  still  had 
old  Cy  under  his  eye  for  Natalie  to  ride;  and  their 
own  journey  back  would  have  to  be  undertaken  at  a 
walking  pace,  anyway.  He  had  learned  enough  of 
Rina's  mixed  character  to  be  sure  that  this  would  have 
a  greater  chance  of  coming  about  if  he  let  her  think 
of  it  for  herself,  so  he  said  nothing  to  her. 

He  was  disappointed.  Mabyn,  too  timid  to  under- 
take so  long  a  journey  without  ample  supplies,  or  perhaps 
too  obstinate  to  go,  they  remained  on  the  island; 
and  Rina  came  every  day  for  food.  If  she  was  grateful 
for  being  allowed  to  join  Mabyn  she  did  not  show  it. 
Every  trace  of  her  better  nature  rapidly  disappeared, 
and  she  seemed  wholly  the  sullen  savage.  Bad  treat- 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  259 

ment  was  the  explanation  they  thought;  and  they 
pitied  her. 

Garth  waited  five  days  more.  Natalie  was  by  that 
time  moving  around  freely;  and  they  had  begun  to 
count  the  days  to  their  ardently  desired  retreat  from 
that  unhappy  valley.  The  question  of  food  became 
more  and  more  pressing  —  their  journey  would  have 
to  be  spread  over  many  slow  stages;  and  he  finally 
decided  to  drive  Mabyn  and  Rina  away. 

So  the  next  time  Rina  came,  he  told  her  he  would 
give  her  two  days'  radons  for  two  persons  the  following 
day;  and  after  that  they  need  expect  no  more.  In 
the  meantime,  he  said,  she  was  free  to  go  up  on  the 
prairie  and  catch  the  first  two  horses  she  met.  He 
even  offered  her  old  Cy  to  round  them  up,  secure  in 
holding  the  dugout  for  a  hostage.  Rina  betrayed  not 
the  least  surprise,  or  any  other  feeling  at  his  ultimatum, 
but  coolly  rode  off  as  he  bid  her.  She  returned  within 
an  hour  driving  Emmy  and  Timoosis,  which  she  picketed 
below  Mabyn's  hut. 

What  passed  between  Rina  and  Mabyn  when  she 
returned  to  the  island,  the  other  two  could  only  guess  at. 
However,  Garth,  up  at  dawn  next  morning,  saw  them 
striking  the  tepee.  They  made  two  trips  back  and 
forth  between  the  island  and  the  mouth  of  the  creek; 
and  afterward,  while  Mabyn  saddled  and  packed  the 
horses,  Rina  paddled  to  Garth's  camp  to  get  the  prom- 
ised rations.  They  both  awaited  her  on  the  bank. 

Rina  presented  the  mask-like  face  they  had  grown 


260  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

accustomed  to,  and  maintained  a  dogged  silence.  The 
only  sign  of  feeling  she  gave  was  a  shadow-like  pain 
drowned  deep  in  her  dark  eyes.  Natalie's  own  eyes 
filled  at  the  sight  of  her  stubbornness;  in  the  days  of 
her  suffering  she  had  grown  very  fond  of  her  dark- 
skinned  nurse;  and  it  was  she  who  had  insisted  through- 
out on  the  existence  of  Rina's  better  nature,  and  had 
never  given  up  hope  of  reclaiming  the  worser  part. 
And  now  it  seemed,  she  must  admit  herself  defeated. 

Garth  laid  out  the  food  he  had  allotted  them;  and 
packed  it  in  a  flour-bag  convenient  to  carry.  He  also 
gave  Rina  an  open  letter  he  had  written,  setting  forth 
their  situation  (without  implicating  Mabyn  or  Rina) 
and  asking  that  food  and  an  escort  be  sent.  That 
it  would  ever  fall  into  responsible  hands  was  proble- 
matical; but  it  was  a  chance.  He  refrained  from  any 
suggestion  that  it  should  be  concealed  from  Mabyn, 
but  Rina  of  her  own  accord  thrust  it  in  her  dress; 
and  he  argued  well  from  the  act. 

Rina  turned  to  go  without  a  word;  but  Natalie 
called  her  softly.  In  her  hand  she  was  holding  a 
round  silver  locket,  in  which  she  had  put  a  tiny  picture 
of  herself.  She  held  it  out  to  Rina  with  a  wistful  smile. 

"For  you,"  she  murmured.  "Keep  it  because  I 
love  you." 

Rina  looked  at  the  little  picture,  struggling  to  main- 
tain her  parade  of  unconcern.  But  suddenly  she 
snatched  it  out  of  Natalie's  hand;  and  thrust  it  in  her 
own  bosom.  Her  face  worked  with  the  pain  of  those 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  261 

who  weep  with  difficulty;  her  eyes  filled  and  overflowed 
at  last.  With  a  wild,  brusque  abandon,  she  flung  her- 
self at  Natalie's  feet  and  pressed  the  hem  of  her  dress 
to  her  trembling  lips. 

"  You  good !  You  good !"  she  sobbed.  Then  spring- 
ing to  her  feet  as  abruptly  as  she  had  fallen,  she  flew 
away  among  the  trees. 

Half  an  hour  later  they  heard  the  two  horses  passing 
the  trail  behind  their  camp;  the  same  trail  by  which 
they  had  all  first  entered  the  valley;  and  the  way  to 
Spirit  River  Crossing. 

At  first  they  dared  not  believe  they  could  really  be 
free  of  their  enemy  so  easily;  and  they  continually 
found  themselves  listening  for  the  sound  of  their  return. 
Garth  saddled  Cy  at  last;  and  rode  along  the  trail  to 
the  top  of  the  bench.  He  saw  Mabyn  and  Rina  two 
specks  in  the  distance;  and  still  travelling  south. 
When  he  returned  with  the  news  to  Natalie,  they 
allowed  themselves  to  rejoice  at  last;  and  they  were 
filled  with  a  great  peace. 

Going  home!  was  the  burden  of  their  happy  speech; 
home  to  the  land  of  friendly  faces,  the  urbane  land, 
the  place  of  comfortable  little  things,  where  life  was 
lapped  in  ease,  sane  and  well-ordered!  How  their 
ears  ached  for  a  human  noise  again!  the  bustle  of 
crowded  sidewalks,  the  clang  of  gongs,  the  fall  of  hoofs 
on  asphalt!  How  their  flesh  yearned  for  the  creature 
comforts!  delicate  feasting  and  good  clothes  to 
wear!  One  must  be  plunged  into  the  wilderness  for 


262  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

a  while  to  sense  the  gifts  of  civilization  at  their  true 
value. 

"I  can  understand  now  why  men  are  so  crazy  to  be 
explorers  and  things,"  said  Natalie.  "They  go  away 
just  for  the  tremendous  fun  of  coming  back  to  it  all! 
Oh-h !  Think  of  dances  —  and  even  despised  tea- 
parties  now!  Think  of  theatres  and  restaurants  and 
going  to  the  races!" 

"And  wouldn't  I  like  to  take  you  straight  through 
to  New  York,  though !"  sang  Garth.  "  Oh !  Broadway 
and  the  Avenue  in  September!  Everything  getting 
under  way  again!  And  Coney  Island  is  still  going! 
Picture  Luna  Park  dropped  down  on  the  island  out 
there!" 

They  laughed  at  the  incongruous  picture. 

"Where  would  we  dine  the  first  night?"  asked 
Natalie. 

"Martin's,"  said  Garth.  "Fancy  us  in  the  balcony 
looking  down  on  the  giddy  crowd;  and  the  orchestra 
sawing  off  the  sextet  from  Lucia  for  dear  life!" 

"Lobster  a  la  Newburg  and  a  pecbe  Melba!"  cried 
Natalie  in  an  ecstasy. 

"Not  on  your  life!"  said  Garth.  "Just  like  a 
girl's  bill-of-fare.  Something  sensible  for  yours 
when  you  go  out  with  me!  How  about  a  filet  dernier 
cri?" 

"Don't  know  it,"  said  Natalie.  "Besides,  I  refuse 
to  be  sensible  in  my  imagination,"  she  added. 

Garth  described  the  delicacy.     "And  a  cheese  sauce 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  263 

on  top  all  browned,  with  strips  of  red  pepper  laid  criss- 
cross; and  it  comes  steaming  hot  under  a  little  glass 
cover!" 

Natalie  groaned.  "Oh,  talk  about  something  else!" 
she  said  faintly. 

"What  will  you  wear?"  asked  Garth  with  a  grin. 

Natalie  drew  a  long  breath  and  plunged  forthwith 
into  elaborate,  excited  descriptions. 

Their  respite  was  very  short  —  only  to  the  middle 
of  the  following  morning.  They  were  still  dwelling 
on  the  subject  of  home.  Garth  had  carefully  lifted 
Natalie  into  the  saddle;  and  was  leading  the  horse  up 
and  down  the  strip  of  grass  to  see  how  she  bore  it. 
Suddenly  she  bent  her  head,  and  laid  a  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"Horses!"  she  said. 

Garth  sharply  pulled  up  old  Cy.  "The  Indian 
cayuses,  perhaps,"  he  said. 

Natalie  shook  her  head.  "Heavier  animals  than 
that,"  she  said.  "And  more  like  the  steady  trot  of 
ridden  horses!" 

They  listened  with  strained  attention;  and  presently 
the  pound  of  hoofs  was  clearly  audible  returning  on 
the  same  trail  through  the  woods  of  the  lake  shore. 
The  approach  of  strangers  is  charged  with  a  tremendous 
significance  to  those  immured  in  a  wilderness.  They 
bated  their  breaths  to  hear  better. 

Garth    scowled.     "If   they    come    back    they    can 


264  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

starve!"  he  said  shortly.  "They'll  not  get  another 
stiver's  worth  from  our  store!" 

Natalie's  ears  were  very  sharp.  "There  are  more 
than  two!"  she  said  suddenly.  "Four  —  six  —  more 
than  that!" 

Garth's  face  cleared.  "Friends,  undoubtedly,"  he 
said.  "Mabyn  could  never  enlist  anybody,  not  even 
breeds,  against  us!" 

But  this  was  only  for  Natalie's  benefit.  Even  while 
he  spoke  another  thought  struck  a  chill  to  his  heart. 
Lifting  Natalie  off  the  horse,  he  sent  her  into  the  house; 
and  taking  his  gun,  he  struck  back  through  the  woods 
to  the  side  of  the  trail,  to  reconnoitre.  He  dropped 
behind  a  clump  of  mooseberry  bushes  where  he  could 
see  without  being  seen. 

The  cavalcade  was  close  upon  him.  The  first  to 
ride  past  was  Herbert  Mabyn.  His  livid  face  was  alight 
with  triumph;  and  he  carried  a  new  Winchester  slung 
over  his  back.  An  ill-favoured  breed  youth  followed; 
his  face  struck  a  chord  in  Garth's  memory;  but  so  hard 
is  it  to  distinguish  alien  faces  that  for  the  moment  he 
could  not  place  him.  Next  there  came  six  pack- 
horses,  laden  with  food  and  camp  outfit,  and  driven 
by  the  next  rider,  a  breed  woman,  whose  face  happened 
to  be  turned  from  Garth  as  she  passed.  He  had  an 
uncomfortable  sense  that  he  knew  her  too.  Rina 
followed,  turning  a  sad  and  troubled  face  in  the  direction 
of  their  camp  as  she  rode  by. 

This  seemed  to  be  all;  and  Garth  was  about  to  rise, 


GRYLLS    REDIVIVUS  265 

when  he  heard  still  another  rider  approaching.  He 
crouched  back  with  a  sure  foreboding  of  who  it  was; 
hence  there  was  little  surprise  in  the  actual  sight  of  the 
faded  check  suit  enwrapping  the  burly  figure,  the  broad- 
brimmed  "Stetson,"  and  the  ragged  cigar  ceaselessly 
twisted  between  fat  lips.  He  looked  older,  that  was 
all;  and  he  bore  marks  of  illness.  Nick  Grylls  had 
found  them  out. 


XX 

SUCCOUR 

GARTH  was  thankful  he  was  alone  when  it  hap- 
pened. The  reaction  after  their  day  of  joyous 
hopefulness  was  too  sudden  to  be  borne. 
Crouching  behind  the  bush,  he  dropped  his  head  in 
his  arms.  What  could  he  hope  for,  single-handed 
against  such  overwhelming  odds  ?  For  a  while  his 
heart  failed  him  utterly,  and  all  his  faculties  were  scat- 
tered in  clownish  confusion.  He  knew  not  which  way 
to  turn.  At  last  one  thought  shone  through  the  murk 
of  his  brain  like  a  star:  Natalie  must  not  be  rudely 
frightened.  He  got  up;  and  composing  his  face  with  a 
great  effort  of  will,  he  hastened  back  to  her. 

But  the  riders  having  crossed  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
and  mounted  the  rise,  Natalie  already  knew  as  much 
as  he.  Her  first  thought  was  likewise  for  him.  She 
turned  a  solicitous  face. 

"My  poor  Garth!'*  she  said.  "More  care  and 
danger  for  you!" 

The  simple  words  acted  on  him  like  a  strong  tonic. 
His  brow  smoothed;  his  mouth  hardened;  and  he  was 
mightily  ashamed  for  his  moment  of  weakness. 

266 


SUCCOUR  267 

"More  fun!"  he  said  with  his  dry,  arrogant  note 
of  laughter.  "Act  four  of  the  drama  begins!" 

Natalie  caught  his  spirit  and  laughed  back. 

"Who  was  the  half-breed,  do  you  suppose?"  he 
said.  "Whitey-blue  eyes,  ugly  scar!" 

"Don't  you  remember?"  she  said  quickly.  "The 
stage  to  the  Landing  - 

"Xavier!     Of  course!"  he  cried. 

"And  the  second  woman  ?" 

"I  only  saw  a  ring  of  gray  curls  under  her  hat." 

"Mary  Co-que-wasa !" 

"Hm!     The  entire  dramatis  persona!"  said   Garth. 

Natalie,  not  to  be  outdone,  saluted  with  her  good 
arm,  and  asked:  "Orders  of  the  day,  Captain  ?" 

In  a  truly  desperate  pass  one  breaks  down  —  or 
laughs.  Youth  laughs.  They  bolstered  each  other's 
courage  with  their  jests,  each  secretly  wondering  and 
admiring  of  the  other. 

"We  have  the  house,  anyway!"  said  Garth.  "Good 
old  tumbledown  shanty!" 

"No!    Fort  Indefatigable!"  amended  Natalie. 

"It'll  be  besieged  all  right,"  said  Garth.  "We 
must  carry  in  everything  we  own,  and  fill  up  the  rest  of 
the  space  with  woocj,  for  the  fire.  I  would  share 
my  room  with  Cy,  but  the  old  boy  couldn't  get  his  ribs 
through  the  door!" 

Natalie  was  told  off  for  sentry  duty.  She  took  up 
her  position  at  the  edge  of  the  shore,  where  she  could 
report  on  all  that  transpired  in  the  other  camp.  It 


268  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

seemed  to  be  the  design  of  these  people  first  to  overawe 
them  with  a  display  of  force.  They  pitched  camp 
openly,  in  and  around  Mabyn's  hut;  and  moved  about 
all  day  in  plain  view.  The  men  amused  themselves  by 
shooting  their  guns  at  various  marks,  clearly  to  show 
the  number  and  strength  of  their  weapons.  Up  to 
dark,  Natalie  was  able  to  report  that  none  of  the  five 
had  left  camp. 

Garth,  meanwhile,  worked  like  a  Trojan.  All  the 
wood  cut  for  the  fire  was  carried  inside,  and  he  had, 
besides,  a  quantity  of  logs  left  over  or  discarded  from 
the  building  of  the  shack;  and  these  were  likewise  stored. 
The  hut  was  built  so  near  the  edge  of  the  bank  there 
was  little  possibility  of  an  attack  from  in  front;  in  each 
of  the  other  three  sides  he  cut  a  loophole  for  observa- 
tion and  defense.  The  last  hours  of  daylight  he  spent 
in  hunting  near  camp;  and  in  setting  snares  to  be 
visited  later.  Two  rabbits  were  all  that  fell  to  his  bag. 

At  nightfall  they  locked  themselves  in.  Garth  did 
not  stop  then,  but  worked  for  hours  piling  the  spare 
logs  around  the  three  vulnerable  sides  of  the  shack; 
so  that  if  the  bullets  should  fly,  they  would  be  pro- 
tected under  a  double  barrier. 

The  night  passed  without  alarms. 

In  the  morning  Garth  wished  to  venture  forth  as 
if  nothing  had  happened.  Inaction  was  intolerable  to 
him.  He  insisted  it  would  be  fatal  for  him  to  act  as  if 
he  were  afraid. 

Natalie  was  all  against  it. 


SUCCOUR  269 

"But  this  is  the  twentieth  century  after  all,"  he 
said;  "and  we're  under  a  civilized  Government.  They 
would  never  dare  shoot  me  in  cold  blood!" 

"Not  kill  you,  perhaps,"  she  said;  "but  bring  you 
down,  helpless!"  Tears  threatened  here;  and  Garth 
was  silenced. 

Opening  the  shutter  in  Natalie's  room,  they  could 
still  command  a  view  of  the  other  camp.  Grylls  and 
Mabyn  were  visible;  and  at  intervals  the  two  women 
appeared.  Xavier  was  missing. 

"  He  will  be  watching  us,"  Natalie  said. 
"As  if  to  give  point  to  her  words,  a  rifle  suddenly 
barked  its  hoarse  note,  close  outside.  Garth  sprang 
to  the  loophole  in  Natalie's  room;  and  was  in  time  to 
see  the  poor,  stupid,  faithful  old  horse,  tethered  out- 
side, sink  to  his  knees,  and  collapse  on  the  grass. 

He  leaped  up,  turning  an  ominous,  wrathful  face. 
"Oh!     The  damned  cowards!"  he  muttered. 
Natalie  flew  into  the  adjoining  room,  and  flung  her- 
self in  front  of  the  door.     "You  must  not  go  out!"  she 
cried.     "What  would  I  do,  if  you  were  hurt  ?" 

She  was  unanswerable,  and  he  turned  from  the  door, 
sickened  with  balked  wrath,  and  flung  himself  face  down 
on  his  blankets  until  he  could  command  himself. 

As  if  to  give  this  act  time  to  sink  in,  nothing  further 
was  undertaken  against  Garth  and  Natalie  all  day; 
though  they  were  undoubtedly  under  surveillance, 
because  the  five  were  never  about  their  own  camp  at 
the  same  time.  It  was  a  bitter,  hard  day  on  the 


270  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

besieged;  Garth,  chafing  intolerably,  paced  the  shack 
like  a  newly  caged  animal;  and  even  Natalie  suffered 
from  his  temper. 

At  nightfall  he  eased  his  pent-up  feelings  by  a  cautious 
sally.  He  filled  all  their  vessels  in  the  lake;  and  re- 
visited his  snares,  which,  however,  yielded  nothing. 
They  were  too  near  camp.  He  saw  no  sign  of  any 
adversary;  but  some  of  them  came  about  later  in  the 
night  like  coyotes;  for  in  the  morning  Garth  saw  that 
the  body  of  old  Cy  had  been  dragged  away  —  in  the  fear, 
perhaps,  that  his  flesh  might  furnish  them  with  food. 

After  breakfast  Garth  took  his  pipe  to  the  window, 
and  folding  his  arms  on  the  high  sill,  watched  the 
movements  in  the  camp  across  the  little  bay.  They 
were  watching  him  too;  he  presently  sensed  a  pair  of 
field-glasses  in  Grylls's  hands.  Garth  laughed  and 
obeying  a  sudden,  ironical  impulse,  waved  his  hand. 
Grylls  abruptly  lowered  the  glass  and  walked  away. 

Garth  was  still  smiling,  when  all  at  once,  without 
warning,  Rina  came  around  the  corner  of  his  shack  and 
faced  him  point  blank.  The  smile  was  fixed  in  aston- 
ishment; Rina  was  unperturbed. 

"What  do  you  want  ?"  he  demanded,  picking  up  his 
gun. 

"I  got  no  gun,"  she  said,  indifferently,  exhibiting 
her  empty  hands.  "Nick  Grylls,  him  send  you  letter." 

Garth  reflected  that  by  letting  her  in,  he  stood  the 
chance  of  getting  much  useful  information;  so  bid- 
ding Natalie  stay  in  her  own  room,  he  opened  the  door. 


SUCCOUR  271 

Rina  handed  him  the  note  from  Grylls.  It  was 
scribbled  in  a  small,  crabbed  hand  on  the  back  of  a 
business  letter.  On  the  other  side  Garth  had  a  glimpse 
of  the  time-honoured  formula:  "Dear  Sir:  Tours  of 
the  first  instant  to  bandy  and  contents  noted.  In  reply 
•we  beg  to  say "  It  gave  him  a  queer,  incon- 
gruous start:  outside,  it  seemed,  people  still  went  to 
and  from  their  offices,  absorbed  in  their  inconsequen- 
tial affairs  —  while  here  in  the  woods  he  was  fight- 
ing for  his  life,  and  Natalie's  honour ! 

"Where  is  she?"  Rina  asked — she  had  never 
referred  to  Natalie  by  name.  "  I  will  fix  her  hair  for  her 
if  she  want,"  she  added  humbly  enough. 

Natalie  immediately  came  forward,  offering  her 
hand.  Rina  clung  to  it  without  speaking,  turning 
away  her  head  to  hide  welling  tears. 

"  Where  did  you  meet  these  people  ?"  Garth  asked  her. 

"On  the  prairie,"  she  answered,  low-voiced.  "Yes- 
terday, noon  spell.  They  coming  this  way.  Nick 
Grylls,  him  mak'  moch  friend  with  'Erbe't,  and  'Erbe't, 
him  glad.  Nick  Grylls  big  man,  rich  man,  every- 
body lak  to  be  friend  with  him.  Nick  Grylls  say  him 
come  to  help  'Erbe't.  Him  give  'Erbe't  ver'  fine  gun." 

"Humph!  Mabyn  will  pay  dear  for  it!"  Garth 
exclaimed. 

"I  say  so  him,"  Rina  said  eagerly.  "Me,  I  tell 
'Erbe't  everybody  see  Nick  Grylls  him  jus'  mak'  a 
fool  of  you.  What  he  want  with  you  ?  He  want  her 
for  himself.  'Erbe't  on'y  laugh.  'E  say  -  '  Rina's 


272  TWO    ON    THE'TRAIL 

voice  sunk  very  low  -  '  *  Let  him  help  me  get  her, 
and  I'll  keep  her,  all  right!"' 

Garth  frowned  and  clenched  his  fists.  His  gorge 
rose  intolerably,  at  the  thought  of  this  precious  pair 
contending  which  was  to  have  Natalie. 

Rina  went  on :  "  Nick  Grylls  say  to  'Erbe't,  mustn't 
let  her  get  out  of  the  country.  He  say  '  If  she  go  out  she 
divorce  you.' '  Rina  pronounced  the  word  strangely. 
"  Nick  Grylls  say  he  know  a  place  to  tak'  her  all  winter, 
Northwest,  many  days  to  Death  River,  where  no  white 
man  ever  go  before.  Him  think  I  not  hear  what  he  say." 

This  was  valuable  information  indeed. 

Garth  opened  the  letter.  It  was  a  curious  document, 
for  while  the'  thoughts  were  like  Grylls's,  they  were 
clothed  in  a  certain  smoothness  of  phrase  more  likely 
supplied  by  Mabyn: 

MR.  GARTH  PEVENSEY,  SIR:  (Thus  it  ran)  I  am  astonished  beyond 
measure  at  the  story  I  have  learned  from  the  lips  of  my  good  friend, 
Mr.  Herbert  Mabyn.  I  assure  you,  sir,  that,  though  this  is  an  unset- 
tled country,  we  are  not  accustomed  to  lawlessness;  nor  do  we  pro- 
pose to  stand  for  it  from  strangers.  You  have  twice  attempted 
Mr.  Mabyn's  life;  you  have  stolen  and  converted  to  your  own  use 
his  household  effects  and  supplies;  you  have  unwarrantably  imprisoned 
him  on  an  exposed  island  to  the  great  detriment  of  his  health.  Your 
purpose  in  all  this  is  transparent.  You  seek  to  part  him  from  his 
wife;  and  you  are  at  this  moment  detaining  Mrs.  Mabyn  in  your 
shack. 

I  flatter  myself  I  am  not  without  weight  and  standing  in  this  com- 
munity; and  I  hereby  warn  you  that  in  the  absence  of  the  regular 
police,  I  mean  to  see  this  wrong  righted.  If  Mrs.  Mabyn  is  imme- 
diately returned  to  her  husband,  you  will  be  allowed  to  go  unmolested. 
If  you  still  detain  her,  we  will  seize  her  by  force,  as  we  have  every 
right,  moral  and  legal,  to  do.  We  know  you  have  only  food  enough 
for  a  few  days,  so  in  any  case  the  end  cannot  remain  long  in  doubt. 

NICHOLAS   GRYLLS. 


SUCCOUR  273 

Scorn  and  amusement  struggled  in  Garth's  face. 
His  nostrils  thinned;  he  suddenly  threw  up  his  head 
and  grimly  laughed. 

"Well,  this  beats  the  Dutch!"  he  said  feelingly. 

Natalie,  reading  the  cunningly  plausible  sentences 
over  his  shoulder,  was  inclined  to  be  anxious.  "Surely 
he  has  no  legal  right  over  me,"  she  said. 

"Not  a  shadow!"  Garth  said. 

"Grylls  may  have  believed  this  story  Mabyn  told 
him,"  she  said. 

"Not  a  bit  of  it!"  Garth  said  quickly.  "Grylls  is 
not  so  simple."  He  stuck  the  letter  sharply  with  his 
forefinger.  "I'm  a  newspaper  reporter,"  he  went  on 
dryly,  "you  can  believe  me,  this  is  a  perfect,  a  beau- 
tiful, a  monumental  bluff!  I'm  almost  inclined  to 
take  off  my  hat  to  him !  But  the  length  of  it  gives  them 
away,  rather;  they  must  have  spent  all  day  yesterday 
cooking  this  up." 

"What  will  you  do  ?"  Natalie  asked. 

A  wicked  gleam  appeared  in  Garth's  eyes.  "Oh, 
wouldn't  I  love  to  answer  it  in  kind!"  he  said  longingly. 
"An  innocent,  simple  little  billet-doux  that  would 
make  them  squirm.  Why,  that's  my  business ! " 

"  Better  not,"  said  Natalie  anxiously. 

"You're  right,"  he  said  with  a  sigh.  "It's  the  first 
thing  you  learn :  never  to  write  when  you  feel  that  way. 
But  it's  mighty  hard  to  resist  it!" 

Rina  understood  little  of  all  this.  "You  send  answer 
back  ?"  she  asked. 


274  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

"No.  Tell  him  there's  no  answer,"  said  Garth. 
"Tell  him  we  nearly  died  laughing,"  he  added. 

That  night  Garth  determined  not  to  leave  the  cabin 
until  shortly  before  dawn.  He  had  seen  Xavier  leave 
the  other  camp  before  dark;  and  he  guessed  the  breed 
youth  had  been  told  off  to  watch  them.  From  what 
he  had  observed  of  the  incontinuity  of  the  breed  mind 
in  any  given  direction,  he  strongly  suspected  if  they 
kept  still  throughout  the  first  part  of  the  night  Xavier 
would  fall  asleep  before  morning.  He  had  a  little 
plan  in  his  mind,  which  he  did  not  confide  to  Natalie. 
About  three  o'clock,  therefore,  he  called  Natalie  to 
bar  the  door  after  him;  and  he  sallied  forth,  conceal- 
ing from  her  that  he  carried  a  coil  of  light  rope. 

He  was  gone  more  than  an  hour,  of  which  every  minute 
was  an  age  to  poor  Natalie  crouching  over  the  fire  and 
straining  her  ears.  She  had  successively  pictured  every 
possible  accident  that  might  have  befallen  him,  before 
her  heart  leaped  at  the  sound  of  his  signal  at  the  door. 

Garth  was  for  sending  her  back  to  bed  forthwith,  but 
Natalie  apprehended  he  had  not  been  gone  so  long  for 
nothing;  and  presently  she  heard  him  stand  two  guns 
in  the  corner. 

"What  have  you  got  ?"  she  asked  eagerly. 

"Oh,  I  just  made  a  trade."  Garth  airily  returned. 
"Thirty  feet  of  clothesline  for  a  Winchester  and  a  bag 
of  cartridges.  I  threw  in  a  handkerchief  to  boot. 
Pretty  good,  eh?" 


SUCCOUR  275 

Natalie  pulled  him  in  by  the  fire,  and  made  him 
light  his  pipe  and  tell  her  what  had  happened. 

"Well,  I  had  a  hunch  Xavier  was  watching  us  to- 
night," he  began.  "I  bore  a  grudge  against  Xavier's 
pretty  face,  and  I  thought  I'd  have  a  little  fun  with  him, 
you  see." 

Natalie  glanced  up  in  alarm. 

"A  fellow  would  go  mad,  if  he  couldn't  do  anything" 
Garth  apologized.  "I'll  be  good  now  for  a  week." 

"Xavier?"  said  Natalie  inquiringly. 

"  I  wouldn't  have  minded  a  little  bit,  giving  the  brute 
his  quietus,"  Garth  said  coolly.  "He  killed  my  horse. 
But  he  had  no  chance  to  put  up  a  fight;  and  I  couldn't 
murder  him;  so  at  this  present  moment  he's  unhurt  — 
except  his  feelings.  But  Grylls  will  half  kill  him  in  the 
morning!" 

"What  did  you  do  to  him  ?"  she  demanded. 

"I  was  pretty  sure  he  would  be  watching  the  path 
we  have  made  to  the  trail,"  Garth  went  on.  "  I  figured 
he  would  be  on  my  left  hand  —  his  right;  it's  the  posi- 
tion a  man  instinctively  takes.  You  can't  shoot  so  well 
over  your  right.  So  I  crawled  along  the  path,  inch  by 
inch  on  my  stomach " 

"  Garth ! "  she  cried  in  horror.     "  If  I  had  known ! " 

"Exactly!"  he  said.  "So  I  didn't  tell  you.  But 
there  was  no  danger,  really.  It  was  too  dark  for  him 
to  shoot  me  —  pitchy  dark  there,  under  the  trees.  I 
couldn't  see  an  inch  before  my  nose;  and  as  I  went  I 
felt  with  my  hand  out  in  front  of  me,  both  sides  the 


276  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

path.  Thistledown  was  nothing  to  the  lightness  of  my 
touch. 

"  Sure  enough,  no  more  than  thirty  yards  behind  the 
house  here,  I  touched  his  moccasin  —  you  couldn't 
mistake  the  feel  of  a  moccasin.  And,  just  as  I  expected, 
he  was  sitting  on  my  left.  That  was  a  pretty  good 
guess  if  - 

"Oh!     Go  on!     Go  on!"  she  begged. 

"He  had  his  back  against  a  tree.  I  listened  for  his 
breathing.  They  breathe  very  light  —  tubercular, 
probably.  Finally,  I  decided  he  was  asleep. 

"Well,  I  mosied  around  behind  him;  and  then  I 
grabbed  him.  He  let  out  just  one  little  squawk;  and 
then  he  shut  his  mouth.  He  struggled;  slippery  as 
an  oiled  cat,  but  not  very  strong.  Finally  I  got  him 
gagged  with  my  handkerchief.  Then  I  tied  him  up 
with  my  rope;  round  and  round;  just  like  the  stories 
we  read  when  we  were  kids.  I  expect  I  pinched  him 
some;  that  was  for  poor  old  Cy. 

"Afterward  I  sat  down  opposite  him;  and  lit  my 
pipe;  and  thought  over  what  I'd  do  with  him,  now 
I  had  him.  We  certainly  weren't  going  to  feed  his 
ugly  phiz;  and  he  was  no  use  as  a  hostage,  for  Grylls 
wouldn't  give  a  hang  what  became  of  him.  Mean- 
while I  was  relieving  my  mind,  by  telling  him  a  few 
plain  truths  about  making  war  on  dumb  beasts.  Hope 
he  understood!" 

Natalie  concealed  a  smile.  "What  did  you  say?" 
she  asked. 


SUCCOUR  277 

"Never  mind,"  said  Garth.  "It  was  more  forcible 
than  polite.  It's  been  sizzling  inside  me  for  two  days. 
Finally  I  decided  to  return  him  to  his  own  camp." 

"Their  camp!"    exclaimed  the  startled  Natalie. 

"Not  all  the  way,"  he  said;  "but  just  where  they'd 
see  him  in  the  morning.  Horrible  example,  and  all 
that,  you  know.  So  I  hoisted  him  on  my  back,  and 
carried  him  around  to  the  brook.  I  propped  him 
against  a  tree  there,  with  his  face  turned  home." 
Garth  chuckled.  "To  finish  the  thing  up  brown, 
I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  pinned  a  placard  on  his 
breast:  Notice!  This  is  the  fate  that  awaits  all 
who  —  et  cetera.  But  I  didn't  think  to  take  any 
writing  materials  along  with  me!" 

"Oh,  Garth!"  said  Natalie  reproachfully,  as  he 
finished. 

He  turned  a  face  of  whimsical  penitence.  "  Honest, 
I  won't  do  it  again!"  he  said.  "But  I  was  under 
two  hundred  pounds  pressure.  It  was  a  case  of  blow 
off  or  bust!" 

They  could  joke  for  each  other's  benefit;  but  pri- 
vately neither  attempted  to  disguise  from  himself 
what  a  desperate  pass  they  had  reached.  When 
they  parted  for  the  night,  Natalie  would  lie  staring 
wide-eyed  at  the  fire,  and  ceaselessly  reproaching 
herself  for  having  drawn  Garth  into  the  sad  tangle 
of  her  life;  while  he,  tossing  on  his  blankets  on  the 
other  side  of  the  partition,  blamed  himself  no  less 


278  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

bitterly  for  having  allowed  her  to  run  into  danger; 
and  wrung  his  exhausted  brain  for  an  expedient  to 
save  her. 

A  little  beleagured  garrison  watching  its  small 
store  lessen  day  by  day,  and  counting  the  crumbs  - 
this  is  the  situation  of  all  to  try  the  soul.  But  a  garri- 
son is  always  buoyed  up  by  the  hope  of  succour;  and 
Garth  and  Natalie  could  expect  none.  On  the  other 
hand  there  was  no  possibility  of  treachery  within  this 
garrison;  no  need  to  measure  out  the  rations,  or  to 
guard  the  store;  for  each  was  jealous  of  the  other's 
having  less;  and  each  sought  to  give  away  his  share. 

There  was  no  variety  in  those  days.  They  waited 
in  vain  for  an  attack  —  even  longed  for  it;  for  behind 
their  walls,  the  odds  would  be  more  nearly  equal. 
But  the  other  party  knew  this  too;  and  preferred  to 
starve  them  out.  Garth's  snares  yielded  nothing  in 
four  days;  the  only  flesh  they  ate  during  that  time 
was  a  fish  he  caught  with  a  line  set  at  night  in  the  lake. 
Their  stores  were  reduced  to  a  few  handfuls  of  flour 
and  a  little  tea.  Meanwhile  their  enemies  feasted 
insolently  all  day  about  their  fire;  this  siege  was  child's 
play  for  them;  they  were  so  perfectly  sure  of  their 
prey  in  the  end. 

There  came  a  night  at  last  when  Garth  and  Natalie 
no  longer  cared  to  keep  up  the  show  of  joking;  they 
liked  to  be  quiet  instead;  and  they  instinctively  drew 
close  together.  They  sat  in  the  inner  room;  her  head 
dropped  frankly  on  his  shoulder;  and  her  hand  lay 


SUCCOUR  279 

in  his.  It  made  his  heart  ache  to  see  how  thin  it  was. 
But  her  spirit  was  still  strong. 

"Garth!"  she  said  suddenly.  "Let's  make  a  break 
for  it!  Anything  would  be  better  than  this!" 

He  shook  his  head.  "No  go,  dearest,"  he  said. 
"  I've  been  over  that,  over  and  over  it,  every  night  for 
a  week!" 

"Couldn't  we  start  down  the  lake  in  the  canoe?" 
she  said.  "  And  make  our  way  from  some  point  below  ? 
We  could  cover  our  tracks  that  way,  and  gain  much 
time.  You  have  a  rough  map  and  a  compass." 

"  They  would  discover  in  the  morning  that  the  canoe 
was  gone,"  he  said. 

"  They  might  not  miss  it  for  a  day  or  two." 

"They  have  the  smoke  of  our  fire  to  go  by,  too." 

"They're   careless.     We   might  get  a  good   start." 

"Dearest,  even  if  we  had  many  days'  start,  they 
know  we  must  make  for  the  Settlement.  How  easy 
it  would  be  to  head  us  off!" 

"  But  it  might  succeed,"  was  all  she  could  say. 

"It's  seventy-five  miles,"  he  said  sadly.  "You're 
not  strong  yet.  How  could  you  walk  it,  without  food 
to  support  you  on  the  way  ?" 

"You  have  your  gun,"  she  said  faintly. 

"There's  no  hunting  on  the  open  prairie  for  a  man 
on  foot!" 

Natalie  dropped  her  head  back  on  his  shoulder; 
and  said  no  more. 

Garth's   face  grew  grimmer   and   grimmer  in   the 


280  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

firelight.  "Do  not  lose  heart,  dear,"  he  said  at  last; 
in  a  gentle  voice  that  was  strangely  at  variance  with 
his  eyes.  "Matters  will  take  a  turn  to-morrow;  I 
promise  you  that." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"    she  asked  anxiously. 

"I'm  thinking  it  out,"  he  said,  evasively.  "I'll 
tell  you  when  it's  pieced  together." 

She  was  too  weary  to  question  him  further. 

In  the  darkness  of  his  own  room,  he  faced  the 
thing.  There  was  to  be  no  sleep  for  him  this  night. 
The  alternative  had  been  there  from  the  first;  but 
hitherto  he  had  averted  his  eyes  from  it,  hoping  against 
hope.  Now  it  could  be  put  off  no  longer.  It  was 
Natalie's  life  against  theirs;  and  throughout  the  hours  of 
the  night,  he  steeled  his  heart  to  launch  five  souls  to 
eternity  —  two  of  them  the  souls  of  women.  Rina  he 
knew  would  be  transformed  into  a  tigress  by  the  death 
of  Mabyn;  so  even  Rina,  whom  Natalie  loved,  must 
go  too.  He  found  himself  dwelling  with  horror  on 
the  harmony  of  her  beauty,  the  deep  fire  of  her  eyes, 
the  soft  play  of  colour  in  her  cheeks  —  which  he  was 
to  mar! 

Supposing  he  succeeded,  the  dreadful  consequences 
were  painfully  clear  to  him;  the  hideous  noise  it  would 
make  in  the  world  when  they  got  out;  the  ugly  look 
it  would  have,  with  no  one  to  bear  out  his  story  but 
Natalie,  and  her  lawful  husband  among  the  dead! 
Grylls's  lying  letter  had  shown  him  how  easy  it  would 
be  to  paint  that  side  of  the  story  in  the  colours  of 


SUCCOUR  281 

justice.  For  himself,  Garth  cared  nothing;  but  the 
thought  of  Natalie,  the  sport  of  a  world  of  malicious 
tongues,  maddened  him.  But  there  was  no  help  for 
it;  it  had  to  be  done. 

His  plan  was  simple  in  the  extreme.  He  intended 
to  cross  the  lake  in  the  canoe;  land  well  beyond 
Mabyn's  camp;  and  fire  the  grass  to  the  windward 
of  the  shack.  No  rain  had  fallen  in  weeks;  the  grass 
was  as  dry  as  tinder;  and  the  old  bleached  shack  itself 
almost  as  inflammable  as  gunpowder.  He  had,  more- 
over, a  small  quantity  of  oil  among  the  things  seized 
from  Mabyn.  The  night  itself  seemed  to  speak  for  the 
deed;  it  was  as  dark  as  Erebus;  and  there  was  a 
blustering,  raw  wind  from  the  north,  presaging  snow. 

After  starting  the  fire,  he  meant  to  climb  the  rising 
ground  behind;  and  when  they  ran  to  beat  out  the 
flames,  he  would  pick  them  off  one  by  one.  His  gun 
would  shoot  as  fast  as  he  could  think;  he  might  get 
all  five  then.  And  if  any  regained  the  hut,  they  would 
soon  be  driven  out  again.  Whichever  way  they  ran, 
Garth  could  run  as  fast  on  the  higher  ground;  and 
none  of  them  was  such  a  shot  as  he.  Grylls  first;  then 
Mabyn;  then  the  breeds.  He  meant  to  wait  until  dawn, 
so  that  if  any  escaped  the  radius  of  the  fire,  he  could  get 
them  by  daylight. 

But  no  executioner  may  have  imagination;  in  the 
darkness  of  his  room  the  attitudes  of  the  slain  were 
pictured  to  Garth  as  clearly  as  if  they  already  lay  before 
him:  Grylls's  gross  body  huddled  in  the  grass;  Mabyn 


282  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

hideous  in  death;  and  Rina  cold  and  still  in  her  wist- 
ful beauty.  Cries  of  terror  and  agony  rang  in  his 
ears;  and  he  saw  himself  afterward  burying  the  bodies 
—  partly  eaten  by  the  flames.  Small  icy  drops  broke 
out  on  his  forehead.  Though  he  was  doing  it  for  her, 
when  it  was  done,  Natalie  could  not  but  shrink  from 
such  a  bloody  wretch.  It  would  part  them  forever. 
But  it  must  be  done! 

When  his  watch  showed  half-past  four  —  the  dawn 
was  later  now  —  he  arose  to  start.  He  called  Natalie 
to  bar  the  door  after  him.  He  told  her  he  was 
going  merely  to  look  about  and  that  she  must  not 
worry  if  he  was  not  back  until  daylight.  Natalie  was 
scarcely  awake.  He  yearned  mightily  to  take  her 
soft,  sleepy  form  in  his  arms  for  once  before  they  were 
imbrued;  but  he  dared  not,  knowing  she  would  instantly 
interpret  the  act  as  a  possible  farewell. 

When  she  closed  the  door  behind  him,  he  felt  as 
one  lost  to  hope. 

As  he  grasped  the  canoe,  preparatory  to  pushing  it 
off,  he  suddenly  became  aware  through  his  sharpened 
senses  —  he  could  not  have  said  how  —  that  some  one 
was  very  near  him.  He  noiselessly  dropped  to  one 
knee;  and  unslinging  his  gun,  waited.  The  wind  was 
making  confusing  noises  and  he  could  not  be  sure. 
The  suspense  became  too  great  to  be  borne  in  silence. 

"Who's  there  ?"   he  said  sharply. 

There  came  a  strange,  new,  and  yet  familiar  voice 
out  of  the  darkness:  "  Garth,  is  that  you  ?" 


SUCCOUR  283 

His  heart  began  to  beat  wildly.  "Who  are  you?" 
he  whispered. 

"Charley!"  returned  the  voice  with  the  boyish 
break  in  it. 

They  sprang  to  their  feet  simultaneously,  not  ten 
paces  apart  in  the  grass. 

"I've  brought  you  grub!'*  sang  the  boy.  "How's 
Natalie?" 

In  an  instant  they  were  in  each  other's  arms.  A 
swift  reaction  passed  over  Garth;  his  knees  weakened 
under  him;  he  clung  to  the  boy's  shoulders;  and 
lowered  his  head. 

"Oh,   thank  God!    thank  God!"    he  murmured. 


XXI 

THE  BROKEN  DOOR 

GARTH  beat  recklessly  on  the  cabin  door  cry- 
ing:    "Natalie!     Natalie!     Good   news!" 
She  was  not  long  in  opening. 

"See  what  I've  brought  you  back!"  he  shouted. 

They  slammed  the  door  shut;  and  together  pulled 
Charley  in  by  the  light  of  the  fire. 

"Charley!  Charley!"  cried  Natalie,  quite  beside 
herself  with  delight;  and  flinging  her  free  arm  around 
his  neck,  she  pressed  her  lips  full  on  his. 

The  honest  full-moon  face  of  the  boy  turned  as  red 
as  a  peony;  but  his  arms  closed  around  her  too,  with 
a  right  good  will;  and  it  was  Natalie  in  the  end,  who 
was  obliged  gently  to  disengage  herself. 

They  all  talked  at  once;  they  laughed  and  wept  in 
concert.  As  soon  as  they  finished  shaking  hands  all 
around,  they  began  again.  Whenever  Garth  was  at 
a  loss  to  express  his  feelings,  he  whacked  Charley 
between  the  shoulders,  until  the  boy  coughed.  In 
the  end,  speech  failing  them  completely,  they  whooped 
and  capered  about  the  shack  like  wild  things. 

"I    say!"     said    Garth    suddenly.     "We're    giving 

284 


THE    BROKEN    DOOR  285 

ourselves  away  nicely!  The  news  has  reached  Mabyn 
and  Grylls  by  this  time." 

They  quieted  down. 

"Tell  us  your  adventures,  Charley  dear,"  said 
Natalie. 

"I'd  better  bring  my  stuff  in  first,"  said  he. 

"Where  is  it?" 

The  boy  unslung  a  bundle  from  his  back.  "Thought 
you  might  be  hungry,  so  I  brought  enough  for  a  couple 
of  squares,"  he  said;  "sugar,  and  tea,  and  bacon, 
and  flour.  And  say,  I  thought  something  fancy  would 
go  down  good;  so  there's  a  tin  of  sardines  and  a  box 
of  biscuits." 

"Oh!  you  darling!"  said  Natalie. 

Charley  was  much  embarrassed.  "The  rest  of 
the  stuff's  cached  two  miles  down  the  shore,"  he  went 
on  hastily.  "I'll  trot  along  and  bring  it  in." 

"Take  the  canoe,"  said  Garth;  "and  they  can't 
hold  you  up." 

"What  will  I  do  with  the  horses?"  asked 
Charley. 

This  was  a  problem.     "How  many  ?"  Garth  asked. 

"Three." 

"How  will  we  keep  them  out  of  Grylls's  hands!" 

"Why  wait  at  all?"  asked  Natalie.  "Let  us  all 
get  in  the  canoe,  and  start  for  home.  It  will  take  me 
just  five  minutes  to  get  ready!" 

But  Garth  shook  his  head.  "You  can't  ride  above 
a  walk  yet,"  he  said.  "It  would  mean  a  running 


286  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

fight  all  the  way.     The  odds  are  still  too  great  against 
us  in  the  open!'* 

"The  fellows  from  the  Settlement  promised  to  come 
look  for  us  in  a  week  if  we  weren't  home,"  said  Charley. 

"  Good ! "  said  Garth.     "  Then  we'll  wait  for  them ! " 

"And  the  horses?"  said  the  boy  anxiously. 
"They're  not  much  to  brag  about;  but  I'm  in  debt 
a  hundred  bones  for  them." 

Garth  clapped  him  on  the  back  again.  "Don't 
you  worry  about  that,  old  boy!"  he  cried.  "The 
debt  is  mine!  Tell  you  what  we'll  do!"  he  added, 
"We'll  bring  them  up  here,  and  swim  them  off  to 
the  island.  There's  forage  enough  over  there  for  a 
day  or  two,  and  they  will  be  right  under  our  eyes!" 

They  set  off  immediately  in  the  canoe;  and  it  was 
all  accomplished  as  planned.  Charley  brought  the 
precious  grub  back  by  water,  out  of  Grylls's  possible 
reach;  while  Garth  drove  the  horses  in  over  the  trail 
at  a  smart  pace.  Nothing  happened  en  route;  it  was 
probably  all  done  before  their  adversaries  had  time  to 
plan  an  attack.  They  swam  the  horses  to  the  island, 
and  were  both  back  in  the  shack,  before  it  was  light 
enough  to  aim  a  gun. 

Breakfast  followed;  and  such  a  breakfast!  They 
both  helped  the  one-armed  cook.  There  was  ban- 
nock light  and  snowy;  bacon  fried  crisp  —  "  breakfast" 
bacon,  very  different  in  the  North  from  plain  "bacon"; 
and  fried  sardines  —  delectable  morsels !  and  coffee, 
and  jam.  All  the  delicious  things  Garth  and  Natalie 


THE    BROKEN    DOOR  287 

had  dreamed  of  paled  beside  this  homely  reality. 
Each  of  the  three  was  delighted,  moreover,  to  see  the 
others  eat;  Charley  in  especial,  at  the  sight  of  the  good 
he  had  brought,  could  scarcely  stop  grinning  to  chew. 
Afterward  he  had  to  be  told  all  that  had  happened; 
and  he  in  return  related  his  adventures. 

"Tell  you  what!  I  was  sore  when  Garth  sent  me 
back!"  Charley  began.  "'What's  the  use!'  I  thought. 
'I  can't  do  any  work,  not  knowing  what's  come  of 
them.'  In  the  end  I  just  didn't  go  back.  I  had  all 
kinds  of  crazy  ideas  about  following  you  along  the 
trail;  but  at  last  I  thought  maybe  I  could  be  some 
real  use  by  hanging  round  the  Settlement,  and  keeping 
an  eye  on  Nick  Grylls.  And  I  did. 

"Say,  he  really  was  knocked  out  all  right,  all  right. 
They  carried  him  in  from  the  lake;  and  the  sisters 
nursed  him  in  the  Convent.  Construction  of  the  brain 
he  had,  or  something  like  that.  Seems  he  got  up  when 
he  first  come  to  on  the  shore,  walked  ten  miles,  and 
then  collapsed  right  near  Grier's  Point.  But  they 
kept  that  low.  Hooliam  gave  out  a  great  story,  how 
a  big  storm  came  up  on  the  lake,  and  how  Nick  fell 
overboard,  et  cetera,  et  cetera;  Garth  wasn't  men- 
tioned in  it  at  all! 

"Long  before  Nick  was  able  to  be  around,  he  sent 
down  for  Mary  Co-que-wasa  and  Xavier;  and  then 
I  knew  there  was  more  mischief  brewing.  Say,  those 
two  are  the  toughest  of  the  whole  tough  bunch.  They 
say  Xavier  is  Mary's  son.  All  this  time  I  was  getting 


288  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

mighty  worried  myself,  why  you  didn't  come  back, 
and  I  was  going  to  look  for  you  anyway.  However, 
as  soon  as  he  was  up,  Grylls  got  a  big  outfit  together, 
and  started  over  the  portage  with  the  two  breeds. 
He  gave  out  that  he  was  going  up  to  Ostachegan 
Creek  —  but  I  knew!  I  got  a  couple  of  cayuses  on 
credit,  and  a  little  grub;  and  followed  him  inside 
three  hours. 

"He  beat  me  by  a  day  to  the  Crossing,  and  went 
right  through.  Over  there  I  heard  about  you  from 
the  fellows;  and  say,  I  was  scared  for  fair,  when  I 
counted  up  the  grub  I  knew  you  had,  and  then  thought 
how  long  you'd  been  away!  I  hustled  and  got  another 
horse  and  all  the  grub  they  would  trust  me  for.  I 
tried  my  darnedest  to  get  some  of  the  fellows  to  come 
with  me.  They  laughed  at  me!  They  said  I'd  been 
reading  too  many  dime  novels  —  I  never  read  any! 
You  see,  every  one  knows  Nick  Grylls  so  well,  and 
nothing  like  this  ever  happened  before.  Jim  Plaskett, 
the  policeman,  would  have  believed  me;  but  he  was 
away.  I  left  a  letter  for  him.  I  lost  a  couple  of  good 
days  at  the  Crossing  over  this.  The  most  the  fellows 
would  say  was,  if  I  didn't  bring  you  back  in  a  week, 
the  bunch  would  ride  up  here. 

"I  was  so  excited  with  it  all,  I  lost  myself  like  a 
bloody  fool  for  two  days  on  the  prairie;  and  I  just 
ran  on  the  lake,  by  accident,  yesterday  afternoon. 
Say,  I  almost  gave  the  whole  snap  away,  for  I  came 
over  the  hill  right  above  Mabyn's  shack.  Maybe  I 


THE    BROKEN    DOOR  289 

didn't  duck  in  a  hurry!  There  was  the  whole  bunch 
below  me!  Across  the  corner  of  the  lake,  I  could 
see  this  house  too.  I  know  it  must  be  yours  because 
it  was  just  built;  and  it  had  a  sort  of  tenderfoot  look 
to  it.  Say!  I  wasn't  glad  to  see  smoke  coming 
out  of  the  chimney!  Oh,  no! 

"Well,  that's  about  all.  I  took  a  long  sweep  around 
the  prairie,  and  came  down  at  the  place  where  we  got 
the  horses.  I  thought  they  would  have  you  watched, 
so  I  figured  I'd  better  wait  for  night,  before  trying  to 
open  up  communications.  When  she  got  good  and 
dark,  I  crawled  around  the  shore  of  the  lake.  But 
when  I  got  here,  I  didn't  know  how  in  thunder  to  let 
you  know  it  was  me,  without  bringing  down  the  bunch 
on  us.  So  I  decided  to  lay  low  till  morning,  and  show 
myself  to  you,  the  first  chance  I  got.  Then  Garth 
came  out  and  it  was  all  right!" 

"  Just  in  the  nick  of  time ! "  said  Garth  grimly. 

"What  were  you  going  to  do?"  asked  Natalie 
quickly. 

But  he  never  told  her. 

They  settled  down  with  what  patience  they  could 
muster,  to  wait  for  their  relief.  Two  days  passed 
without  any  hostile  demonstration  from  the  camp 
on  the  hill;  but  that  their  enemies  kept  themselves 
well  informed,  they  had  the  best  reason  to  know; 
for  it  snowed  on  the  second  day,  and  on  the  following 
morning  there  were  moccasin  tracks  around  the  house, 


290  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

and  the  rounded  marks  of  two  knees  under  the  loop- 
hole in  Natalie's  room.  Garth  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  hang  a  piece  of  canvas  over  the  hole; 
nevertheless,  the  discovery  made  them  decidedly  uncom- 
fortable. Garth  nailed  a  board  over  the  hole;  and 
they  searched  the  walls  anew  for  any  tell-tale  crack 
that  might  betray  them. 

It  grew  warm  again;  and  the  snow  melted  off  the 
ground.  Frequent  observations  of  the  other  camp 
taught  them  nothing.  This  apparent  inactivity  puzzled 
Garth,  since  the  others  must  know  that  the  game  of 
starving  them  out  was  blocked  with  the  arrival  of 
Charley.  They  waited  in  momentary  expectation  of 
attack,  or  a  proposal;  but  none  came. 

Garth's  only  serious  anxiety  now  was  for  the  three 
horses.  They  must  by  this  time  have  cropped  the 
limited  herbage  of  the  island;  and  in  another  day, 
when  they  began  to  suffer  with  hunger,  they  would 
undoubtedly  swim  off;  and  all  his  trouble  to  save 
them  would  be  lost.  He  was  greatly  tempted  by  the 
recollection  of  a  wide,  low  meadow  on  the  edge  of  the 
lake  below,  where  the  blue-joint  grass  grew  as  high 
as  a  man's  thigh,  curing  naturally  in  the  sun.  With 
an  hour's  labour,  he  reflected,  he  could  cut  enough  to 
last  them  for  a  day. 

There  was  a  risk,  of  course,  in  depriving  the  cabin 
of  its  principal  defender  for  even  so  long;  but  he  would 
not  be  at  any  time  more  than  half  an  hour's  journey 
from  them;  and  Charley  ought  surely  to  be  able  to 


THE    BROKEN    DOOR  291 

hold  the  fort  for  that  time.  In  case  of  an  attack  it 
might  even  be  an  advantage  for  him,  Garth,  to  be  on 
the  outside  of  the  cabin,  where  he  could  flank  the 
attackers  with  his  gun. 

In  the  end  he  went;  setting  off  two  hours  before 
dawn,  according  to  his  custom.  On  issuing  from  the 
shack,  he  found  with  some  anxiety  that  the  sky  had 
become  heavily  overcast,  and  an  east  wind  had  sprung 
up.  This  would  prevent  his  hearing  as  well  as  he 
wished;  however,  he  considered  that  if  Grylls  intended 
a  night  attack,  he  would  scarcely  wait  until  so  near 
morning:  and  he  kept  on. 

He  sat  in  the  stern  of  the  canoe  pushing  hard  against 
the  opposing  wind.  The  raised  bow  danced  over  the 
water,  slapping  the  little  waves,  and  sending  out 
musical  cascades  of  drops  on  either  side.  The  wind 
had  the  same  cool,  damp  smell  of  the  east  winds  at 
home;  and  he  was  reminded  of  a  score  of  nights  when 
he  had  nothing  heavier  on  his  mind  than  the  approach- 
ing end  of  a  vacation.  After  two  days'  imprisonment 
in  the  shack,  the  tussle  with  the  wind  was  highly 
exhilarating;  and  it  was  very  good  to  measure  the 
strength  of  his  arms.  He  sang  under  his  breath  as 
he  worked.  Black  as  it  was,  he  could  guide  himself 
by  the  dimly-sensed  outline  of  the  tree  masses;  and 
when  they  receded  he  knew  he  had  arrived  opposite 
the  meadow. 

It  took  him  longer  than  he  had  counted  on  to  gather 
what  he  could  carry;  for  he  was  hampered  by  the 


292 

intense  darkness.  He  collected  the  hay  into  small 
armfuls,  which  in  turn  he  tied  into  great  bundles; 
and  wedged  them  into  the  canoe.  Embarking  again, 
he  raced  back  before  the  wind  at  double  the  speed  he 
had  made  against  it. 

On  the  way,  a  single,  dull  sound,  coming  muffled 
through  the  night,  brought  his  heart  into  his  throat. 
He  paused;  but  no  other  sound  followed,  except  the 
song  of  the  water,  and  the  sweep  of  the  wind  through 
the  branches  on  shore.  He  redoubled  his  strokes, 
filled  with  a  vague  anxiety;  and  pausing  only  to  cast 
out  his  bundles  on  the  shore  of  the  island,  hastened 
back  to  the  camp.  He  heard  no  other  untoward 
sounds;  but  crossing  from  the  island,  he  saw  that  the 
fire  in  the  other  camp  had  died  down.  This  had 
never  happened  any  night  before;  and  it  added  to  his 
uneasiness.  The  increased  chill  of  the  air  now 
heralded  the  approach  of  dawn;  but  it  was  not  yet  any 
lighter. 

As  he  landed,  the  familiar  outline  of  his  own  house, 
just  as  he  had  left  it,  allayed  his  fears.  Everything 
about  the  camp  was  still.  Cautiously  drawing  up 
the  canoe,  he  advanced  with  confidence  to  give  the 
prearranged  knock  on  the  door.  His  knuckles  beat 
upon  the  air.  The  door  was  wide  open. 

Then  Garth's  heart  shrivelled  in  his  breast;  and 
his  throat  was  constricted  as  by  sudden  deadly  fumes. 
He  staggered  in.  There  was  a  stale  odour  of  gun- 
powder in  the  room. 


THE    BROKEN    DOOR  293 

"Natalie!  Charley!"  he  called,  in  a  choked  whis- 
per. 

The  stillness  mocked  him. 

He  ran  into  Natalie's  room,  still  faintly  illumined 
by  the  embers  of  the  hearth.  A  glance  told  him  it 
was  empty;  but  he  felt  with  his  hands  in  all  the  dim 
corners,  agonizingly  whispering  her  name.  ,  There 
was  no  evidence  here  that  any  struggle  had  taken  place. 

Running  out  to  the  outer  room  toward  Charley's 
bed,  he  fell  over  a  body  lying  on  the  floor.  A  touch 
told  him  it  was  the  boy.  He  disregarded  it,  until 
he  had  made  sure  Natalie  was  not  there.  Then  drag- 
ging the  body  into  the  inner  room,  he  built  up  the  fire. 
He  saw  the  boy  was  not  dead;  he  could  find  no  wound 
on  him.  He  worked  desperately  to  bring  him  to. 

Charley  stirred  at  last,  and  opened  his  eyes. 

"What  happened  ?"    besought  the  distracted  Garth. 

The  boy  only  looked  at  him  stupidly. 

"For  God's  sake  collect  your  wits,  and  tell  me!" 
he  cried. 

Charley,  suddenly  clutching  Garth's  arm,  raised 
himself  on  his  elbow.  "Garth!"  he  cried  wildly. 
"Natalie!  Where  is  she?" 

"God  knows!"   groaned  Garth. 

Terrible  recollection  returned  to  the  boy's  eyes. 
He  sat  up  dizzy  and  nauseated.  "I  remember  now!" 
he  stuttered. 

"Quick!     Quick!"  implored  Garth. 

"It  was  a  little  while  after  you  went,"  Charley  con- 


294  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

tinued,  getting  it  out  with  difficulty.  "Natalie  came 
and  shook  me.  She  said  she  heard  a  sound  outside. 
.  .  .  We  waited  and  listened  —  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  it  seemed.  .  .  We  heard  nothing.  .  .  Then 
suddenly  with  one  big  crack,  the  door  flew  open.  They 
drove  a  log  against  it.  .  .  I  couldn't  tell  how  many 
came  .  in  —  maybe  three.  .  .  I  shoved  Natalie 
behind  me  in  the  farthest  corner.  I  had  the  Winchester 
ready  in  my  hands.  .  .  They  dropped  to  the  floor 
when  they  came  in;  and  scattered.  I  couldn't  tell  where 
they  were  —  I  don't  know  how  long  it  was  .  .  . 
Suddenly  I  heard  something  close  to  —  somebody 
breathing.  I  fired.  In  the  flash  I  saw  them  all, 
Xavier,  Mary,  and  right  over  me,  Nick  Grylls,  swinging 
the  butt  of  his  gun  —  then  my  head  split  in  pieces 
.  .  .  and  you  came!" 

"Oh,  my  God!"  cried  Garth. 

He  picked  up  his  rifle,  and  ran  like  a  madman  from 
the  cabin. 


XXII 

THE  BLIZZARD 

GARTH  had   no  conscious   design  in  running; 
his  muscles   merely   reacted  in  obedience  to 
the  grinding  tumult  in  his  brain.     His  ear- 
drums rang  with  the  fancied  sound  of  Natalie's  cries; 
and  his  eyeballs  were  seared  with  the  picture  of   her 
shrinking  in  the  brutal  hands  of  Grylls.     As  he  crashed 
through  the  wood,  the  little  branches  whipped  his  face 
unmercifully;  and  the  spiny  shoots  of  the  jackpines  tore 
his  clothes.     He  ran  full  tilt  into  unyielding  obstacles; 
and  was   flung   aside,   unconscious   of  the   shock. 

He  instinctively  sought  the  other  camp.  He  found 
it  deserted;  the  tent  gone;  the  door  of  the  empty 
cabin  swinging  idly  in  the  wind.  He  came  to  a  stop 
then;  and  his  arms  dropped  to  his  sides:  without 
knowledge  of  the  direction  they  had  taken;  and  with- 
out the  craft  to  follow  their  tracks  in  the  grass,  in  his 
helplessness  he  hovered  on  the  brink  of  sheer  madness. 
He  was  sharply  called  back  to  himself  by  the  sound 
of  a  faint  groan  from  the  edge  of  the  cut-bank.  A 
tinge  of  gray  had  by  this  time  been  woven  into  the 
unrelieved  blackness.  Running  toward  the  sound, 

295 


296  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

he  found  a  human  form  prone  in  the  grass;  and  he  saw 
it  was  a  woman  lying  on  her  face.  Grasping  her 
shoulders,  he  rolled  her  over.  It  was  Rina. 

A  tiny  hope  sprang  in  his  breast.  Here  at  last 
was  a  clue. 

"  Get  up ! "  he  said  roughly. 

She  made  no  answer.  From  her  limpness,  and  her 
cold,  moist  hands,  Garth  apprehended  that  she  was 
physically  sick.  Partly  raising  her,  he  poured  part 
of  the  contents  of  his  flask  down  her  throat.  She 
choked,  and  turned  her  head  away. 

"Let   me   be!"     she    murmured.     "Let   me    die!" 

The  wildness  in  Garth's  veins  subsided.  Here  he 
had  something  tangible  to  work  upon;  and  his  con- 
scious brain  resumed  operations;  prompting  him  at 
first  like  a  small,  strange  voice  at  an  immense  distance. 

"Tell  me  what  happened!"  he  said  hoarsely.  "If 
they  have  wronged  you,  too,  help  me  to  find  them, 
and  we'll  pay  them  off  together!" 

"No!  I  want  die!"  whispered  Rina  in  a  voice 
as  dull  and  hopeless  as  the  sound  of  all-day  rain  in 
the  grass.  "I  say  I  kill  myself.  He  laugh.  He  see 
me  tak'  bad  medicine.  He  don'  care.  I  fall  down. 
.He  leave  me.  I  t'ink  I  die  then.  I  ver'  glad.  But 
I  tak'  too  much;  and  it  only  mak'  my  stomach  sick. 
Bam-by  I  try  to  go  to  lake  and  jomp  in  —  but  my 
head  go  off!" 

In  spite  of  her  unwillingness,  Garth  forced  more  of 
the  stimulant  down  her  throat.  Presently  she  was 


THE    BLIZZARD  297 

able  to  sit  up.  She  bowed  her  back,  and  buried  her 
face  in  her  crossed  arms. 

"Ride  with  me  after  them!"  urged  Garth.  "They 
have  less  than  an  hour's  start!  We  will  overtake 
them  at  their  first  camp.  Rouse  yourself!" 

But  Rina  only  shook  her  head;  and  continued  to 
murmur:  "He  want  me  die!  He  glad  I  die!" 

Garth's  desperate  need  brought  craft  to  his  aid. 
"Very  well,"  he  said  coolly.  "I  shoot  him  on  sight! 
Mabyn  goes  first!" 

Rina,  touched  home,  raised  an  agitated  face.  "No! 
No!"  she  said  tremblingly.  "Gryils,  him  took  her  — • 
not  'Erbe't!" 

"No  matter!"  he  said,  feigning  to  leave  her. 
"Mabyn  dies  like  a  dog  —  unless  you  come  with  me." 

Rina  struggled  to  her  knees,  and  clutched  at  him. 
"Wait  a  minute!"  she  stammered. 

"Come  with  me,  and  I  promise  you  his  life,  if  I  can 
save  it,"  he  urged.  "  I  will  give  it  to  you !" 

She  attempted  to  rise;  and  he  lifted  her.  She 
stood  swaying  dizzily,  clinging  to  his  arm  for  support. 

"I  come,"  she  said  faintly  at  last.  "Tak'  me  to 
the  water,  then  go  get  your  horses.  When  you  come 
back  I  ride  with  you." 

She  stopped  in  the  cabin,  and  got  an  herb  she  knew 
of  to  restore  her.  Garth  then  carried  her  down  the 
hill,  and  laying  her  at  the  brink  of  the  water,  where 
she  could  drink  and  bathe  her  face,  he  hastened  back 
to  his  own  shack. 


TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

It  was  now  light  enough  to  see  a  way  through  the 
wood.  A  spectral  mist  hung  suspended  a  few  feet 
over  the  lake;  beneath  it  the  water  was  like  a  steel 
cuirass,  reflecting  bordering  foliage  as  black  as  jet. 
Charley  had  gone  for  the  horses  as  a  matter  of  course 
and  was  even  now  landing  them.  The  boy's  whilom 
rosy  cheeks  were  as  white  as  the  mist;  and  his  face 
was  twisted  with  pain.  His  jaw  was  set  doggedly; 
and  he  worked  ahead  without  question  or  comment. 

No  orders  were  required;  they  laboured  instinctively. 
Saddles  were  carried  out,  and  flung  on  the  dripping 
beasts;  and  while  Charley  girthed  them,  Garth  rolled 
the  blankets,  and  made  three  bundles  of  grub,  as  heavy 
as  he  dared  ask  each  horse  to  carry,  in  addition  to  his 
rider.  Natalie's  little  rifle  he  gave  to  Charley;  the 
second  Winchester  had  been  won  back  in  the  raid, 
and  the  twenty-two  was  the  only  other  weapon  they 
possessed.  In  twenty  minutes  they  were  ready.  Secur- 
ing the  door  of  the  hut  against  the  entrance  of  animals, 
they  hastened  to  pick  up  Rina. 

They  found  her  waiting,  outwardly  collected;  her 
old  walled,  sullen  self  —  but  in  the  early  light  her  skin 
showed  a  deathly,  yellowish  gray.  Refusing  any  assist- 
ance, she  climbed  into  the  empty  saddle  without  com- 
ment; and  mutely  pointed  the  way  over  the  hills  to 
the  west.  Garth  lingered  to  affix  a  note  to  the  door 
of  the  shack  for  those  they  expected  to  follow. 

As  he  caught  up  to  them  again,  he  overlooked  his 
little  party  with  the  eye  of  a  commander.  It  was  not 


THE    BLIZZARD  299 

a  hopeful  view:  three  wretched,  half-fed  beasts  he  had, 
complaining  at  the  very  start  under  their  loads;  and 
for  his  aids  an  injured  boy  and  a  sick  girl;  with  one 
first-class  weapon  and  a  toy  among  the  three  of  them. 
This  was  all  he  had  with  which  to  meet  and  overcome 
Grylls's  strong  and  well-provided  party.  The  odds 
were  so  preposterous,  he  put  the  thought  out  of  his 
head  with  a  shrug.  At  the  last  there  is  a  moment 
when  the  hard-pressed  commander  must  wall  up  his 
brain;  and  let  the  tide  of  his  blood  carry  him.  The 
daylight  revealed  Garth's  face  gaunt  and  sunken;  his 
lips  a  grim  stroke  of  red;  and  his  eyes  contracted  to 
two  icy  points. 

As  they  climbed  the  hill  Rina  said:  "They  got 
fourteen  horse.  Nick  Grylls  bring  nine,  three  yours, 
and  two  cayuse  'Erbe't's." 

At  the  top  she  halted  them,  while  she  walked  her 
horse  back  and  forth,  searching  the  grass.  Garth's 
eyes  meanwhile  swept  the  wide,  brown,  undulating 
sea,  seeking  in  the  hollows  and  the  coppices  for  any 
sign  of  motion.  But  the  plain  was  as  empty  of  life 
as  the  gray  sky. 

Rina  rejoined  him.  "They  break  up  so  we  can't 
see  them  so  good,"  she  said  in  her  indifferent  way. 
"Seven  horse  go  by  the  edge  of  the  coulee,  southwest. 
Five  horse  go  west.  Two  horse  go  northwest.  Bam-by 
I  t'ink  they  come  together." 

"What  horse  was  she  on  ?"  Garth  demanded. 

"Nick    Grylls's    big  roan,"  she  answered.     "They 


300  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

mak'  a  bag  for  her  to  sit  in.  She  sit  one  side;  Mary 
Co-que-wasa  sit  the  other." 

"Find  the  roan's  tracks,"  ordered  Garth. 

Rina  shook  her  head.  "I  never  follow  that  horse," 
she  said. 

"Find  the  heaviest  tracks  then!" 

She  obediently  wheeled  her  horse;  and  searched 
the  turf  again;  riding  around  them  in  wide  fanlike 
sweeps,  while  Garth  waited  with  a  deadly  patience. 
At  last  she  struck  off  to  the  northwest,  calling  to  them, 
and  Garth  and  Charley  spurred  after. 

"'Erbe't,  Mary  and  her,  go  this  way,"  she  said 
briefly,  as  they  came  up.  "Nick  Grylls  take  six 
horse  west,  and  Xavier  take  four  by  coulee." 

"If  we  can  overtake  her  before  the  others  come 
up!"  muttered  Garth. 

Rina,  looking  at  their  horses,  shrugged  signifi- 
cantly. 

For  half  an  hour  they  loped  over  the  prairie  without 
speech.  A  chill,  damp  wind  stung  their  faces.  The 
immense  and  empty  plain  with  its  cold  shadows  wore 
an  ominous  look  under  the  lowering  sky;  a  look  that 
clutched  at  the  breast. 

"I  t'ink  it  snow  bam-by,"  Rina  had  said. 

It  would  need  only  snow  to  complete  their  diffi- 
culties. Garth  ground  his  teeth;  and  urged  his  horse 
afresh  up  every  little  rise,  eagerly  searching  the  expanse 
ahead  from  the  top.  A  glance  at  last  at  the  stretched 
nostrils  and  wet  flanks  of  their  mounts  told  him  plainly 


THE    BLIZZARD  301 

such  a  pace  would  be  slowest  in  the  end.     Hardest 
of  all  to  bear  was  the  necessity  of  going  slowly. 

"What  do  you  know  of  their  plans  ?"  he  demanded 
of  Rina. 

She  shook  her  head.  "They  not  tell  me  moch,"  she 
said.  "They  t'ink  I  too  friendly  for  you!" 

Little  by  little  as  they  rode,  the  story  was  drawn 
painfully  out.  "Soon  as  Charley  come  to  you,  they 
get  ready  right  away,"  said  Rina.  "They  catch  all 
horses,  and  keep  them  up  coulee,  and  pack  everyt'ing. 
Mary  Co-que-wasa,  her  go  down  and  watch  your 
house  all  the  time,  for  good  chance  to  tak'  her.  When 
you  go  out  she  mak'  little  fire  under  the  bank  for  signal; 
and  Nick  Grylls  and  'Erbe't  and  Xavier,  them  all  go 
down.  They  not  tak'  me." 

Garth  cursed  himself  to  think  how  he  had  played 
directly  into  their  hands. 

"I  wait,  and  bam-by  they  bring  her  back,"  con* 
tinued  Rina  in  her  toneless  voice.  "She  ver'  quiet. 
She  mak'  no  cry.  By  the  fire  I  see  her  face.  It  is 
the  face  of  a  dead  woman." 

A  groan  was  forced  between  Garth's  clenched  teeth. 
"Did  they  hurt  her?"  he  demanded,  waiting  for  the 
answer  like  a  condemned  man  waits  for  the  final  stroke. 

But  Rina  shook  her  head.  "Nick  Grylls,  him  tak' 
off  his  hat,  polite,"  she  said.  "'Erbe't  not  say  any- 
t'ing  to  her." 

He  breathed  again.  "Did  they  refuse  to  take  you 
along?"  he  asked. 


302  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

The  stolid  brown  face  was  twisted  with  pain  again. 
She  lowered  her  head,  and  clung  to  the  horn  of  her 
saddle.  "No,"  she  said  very  low.  "They  'fraid  to 
leave  me  be'ind.  But  they  don'  want  me.  And  I 
want  to  die  when  I  see  'Erbe't  with  her.  They  all 
glad  when  t'ink  I  to  die!" 

Garth  forbore  to  question  her  further. 

His  impatience  could  scarcely  brook  the  necessary 
pause  to  let  the  horses  feed  at  noon.  It  was  a  camp 
of  wretchedness;  none  of  the  three  riders  thought  of 
eating.  All  the  while  the  horses  cropped,  Garth 
strode  ceaselessly  up  and  down,  biting  his  lips;  while 
the  white-faced  boy,  who  had  not  spoken  all  morning, 
sat  holding  his  bursting  head  between  his  hands;  and 
Rina,  crouching  apart,  gazed  over  the  prairie  with 
unseeing  eyes. 

Garth  had  it  ever  in  mind  to  save  the  horses,  but 
his  impatience  was  incontrollable;  he  made  them  start 
too  soon;  and  throughout  the  afternoon  he  urged  them 
more  than  he  knew.  The  animals  failed  visibly, 
hour  by  hour.  It  was  more  than  three  hours  before 
they  came  upon  the  site  of  the  noon  camp  of  those 
ahead,  showing  that  they  were  steadily  losing  in  the 
chase. 

To  be  obliged  to  stop  again  two  hours  short  of 
darkness  was  a  crushing  disappointment  to  Garth; 
but  the  horses  could  go  no  farther.  He  could  never 
have  told  how  he  curbed  his  impatience  throughout 
that  age-long  night.  He  did  not  sleep:  but  an  excess 


THE    BLIZZARD  303 

of  suffering  is  in  the  end  its  own  merciful  opiate;  and 
he  was  not  always  fully  conscious. 

With  the  morning  a  fresh  blow  awaited  them. 
Daylight  revealed  Garth's  mount  lying  dead  of  exhaus- 
tion fifty  yards  from  camp.  In  a  wide  circle  on  the 
neighbouring  heights,  the  coyotes  were  squatting  on 
their  haunches,  waiting  for  the  sure  feast.  It  was 
colder  than  the  day  before;  and  the  clouds  hung 
thicker  and  lower.  The  three  of  them  approached 
the  dead  animal,  and  looked  down  upon  it  stolidly. 

Garth  set  his  teeth,  and  laughed  his  harsh  note. 
"I  will  walk,"  he  said  shortly.  "I  can  keep  going 
while  you  are  spelling  the  horses." 

Charley,  for  the  first  time,  questioned  a  decision 
of  his  leader.  "We  can't  spare  an  hour!"  he  said 
with  a  dull  decisiveness,  in  which  there  was  nothing 
boyish.  "You  have  got  to  keep  on  ahead.  Besides, 
you  can't  follow  the  tracks  as  well  as  I  can,  you  would 
lose  yourself.  I  will  walk." 

Of  the  two  desperate  expedients  it  was  clearly  the 
better;  and  Garth  instantly  acquiesced.  Possessed 
by  a  master  idea,  he  was  incapable  of  feeling  any 
great  compunctions  at  the  idea  of  the  injured  boy 
setting  forth  on  the  prairie  alone  —  that  would  come 
later.  At  present  he  stood  equally  ready  to  sacrifice 
Charley,  or  himself,  or  all  three  of  them  together, 
if  it  would  save  Natalie. 

The  boy  doggedly  busied  himself  making  a  bundle 
of  his  blankets,  and  food  enough  to  last  him  three 


304  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

days.  The  rest  of  his  pack  was  added  to  the  com- 
plaining backs  of  the  other  two  horses. 

Garth  did  not  neglect  to  consider  what  he  could 
do  to  ensure  the  boy's  safety.  "Better  return  to  the 
shack,"  he  urged.  "You  can  do  it  in  two  marches. 
There's  plenty  of  grub  there." 

But  Charley  flatly  refused. 

"Very  well,"  said  Garth.  "I'll  leave  a  note  for 
you  every  time  we  stop,  telling  you  what  time  we  passed. 
If  you  don't  overtake  us  to-night  or  to-morrow,  I'll 
leave  more  grub  for  you.  If  we  don't  catch  them  in 
a  day  or  so,"  he  added  with  a  look  at  the  remaining 
horses,  "we'll  all  be  in  the  same  boat  again." 

It  was  a  grim,  brusque  leave-taking.  The  boy 
averted  his  head  as  they  left  him,  to  hide  the  look  of 
despair  in  his  eyes.  He  knew  what  the  lowering, 
wintry  clouds  portended  on  the  prairie;'  and  in  his 
heart  it  was  a  final  farewell  that  he  bade  them.  But 
he  kept  his  chin  up,  and  strode  manfully  after. 

Garth  did  not  suspect  what  was  passing  in  his 
mind;  the  city  man  had  never  seen  a  snowstorm  on 
the  prairie.  Topping  every  rise,  he  looked  back, 
and  waved  his  hat  at  the  plodding  figure,  slightly  bent 
under  the  weight  of  his  pack. 

"He's  tough!  He'll  come  through  all  right!"  he 
said  to  Rina  more  than  once  —  perhaps  because  he 
needed  secretly  to  reassure  himself. 

Rina,  preoccupied  with  her  own  heavy  thoughts, 
did  not  seem  to  care  either  way. 


THE    BLIZZARD  305 

About  ten  o'clock  they  descended  into  a  considerable 
coulee  whose  stony  bed  still  contained  some  standing 
pools.  Here,  by  the  water,  Grylls's  party  had  encamped 
for  the  night;  and  the  ashes  of  their  fire  were  still 
warm.  From  the  extent  of  the  trampling  in  the  mud, 
it  was  clear  the  whole  party  had  made  a  rendezvous 
here;  and  beyond  the  coulee,  even  Garth  had  no  dif- 
ficulty in  following  the  trail  of  the  fourteen  horses  over 
the  turf.  He  rode  ahead  now;  consulting  his  compass, 
he  saw  that  the  way  always  led  due  northwest. 

Some  time  later  his  eye  was  attracted  by  a  splash 
of  white  in  the  grass.  Throwing  himself  off  his  horse, 
he  pounced  upon  it.  It  was  a  plain  little  square  of 
linen;  and  in  the  border  was  printed  .in  small  neat 
characters  "N.  Bland."  The  find  nearly  unmanned 
him;  he  fancied  the  scrap  of  linen  was  still  damp  with 
her  tears;  and  the  old  madness  of  desperation  surged 
over  him  again.  He  forced  his  weary  horse  into  a 
gallop.  Rina  indifferently  followed. 

Pretty  soon  the  snow  began  to  fall  in  large,  wet 
flakes,  drifting  down  as  idly  and  erratically  as  the 
opening  notes  of  one  who  dreams  at  the  piano  - 
large  flakes  falling  direct  to  the  ground  and  lingering 
there  like  measured  notes;  and  little  white  coveys 
suddenly  eddying  hither  and  thither,  like  aimless 
runs  up  and  down  the  keyboard. 

Rina  lifted  her  brown  face  to  the  darkening  sky.  "  We 
better  go  back  to  the  coulee,"  she  called  after  Garth. 

He  frowned.     "Nonsense!"   he  cried  irritably.     "A 


306  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

flurry  of  snow  can't  hurt  anybody!  It'll  turn  into 
rain  directly!" 

She  shrugged,  and  said  no  more. 

The  mute  symphony  of  the  snow  was  played  imper- 
ceptibly accelerando.  The  flakes  became  smaller, 
and  thicker,  and  dryer;  and  each  gust  of  wind  was  a 
hint  steadier  and  stronger  than  the  last.  Their  radius 
of  view  was  little  by  little  restricted :  the  distant  hills 
faded  out  of  sight,  and  the  white  dome  closed  over 
and  around  them,  until  at  last  they  seemed  to  be 
traversing  a  little  island  of  firm  ground,  with  edges 
crumbling  into  a  misty  void.  Presently  the  ground, 
too,  was  overlaid  with  white;  earth  and  sky  com- 
mingled indistinguishably;  and  all  that  held  them  to 
earth  was  the  quadruple  line  of  black  hoof-marks 
extending  a  little  way  behind.  The  horses  sulked 
and  hung  their  heads. 

They  came  to  another  and  a  shallower  coulee,  which 
seemed  to  take  a  northeasterly  direction  across  the 
prairie;  whereas  all  the  watercourses  they  had  crossed 
hitherto  tended  to  the  southeast.  Garth,  on  the  watch 
for  any  such  evidences,  suspected  they  had  crossed  a 
height  of  land.  On  the  other  side  of  this  coulee  he 
found  he  could  no  longer  trace  the  passage  of  the  pre- 
ceding cavalcade  under  the  thickening  snow.  He 
impatiently  called  on  Rina;  but  she  merely  shrugged, 
refusing  to  look. 

"No  can  follow  in  the  snow!"  she  said  contemptu- 
ously. 


THE    BLIZZARD  307 

At  every  hint  of  stoppage,  Garth's  blood  surged 
dangerously  upward.  He  pressed  his  knuckles  against 
his  temples,  and  strove  to  think.  The  two  horses, 
instinctively  drawing  close  together,  turned  their  tails 
to  the  driving  flakes.  Rina  sat  hunched  in  her  saddle, 
as  indifferent  as  a  squat,  clay  image. 

"I  will  ride  on,"  he  said  thickly. 

She  gave  no  sign. 

He  consulted  his  compass.  "We  have  ridden  due 
northwest  all  the  way,"  he  said.  "Where  are  they 
heading  for  ?" 

"Death  River,  I  guess,"  she  answered,  pointing. 
"The  crossing  is  northwest." 

"How  far?"   he  demanded. 

"Two  days'  journey,  maybe  seventy-five  miles." 

"You  wait  for  the  boy  in  the  shelter  of  the  poplar 
bluff  across  the  coulee,"  he  said.  "When  the  snow 
stops,  follow  on  as  well  as  you  can." 

"Charley  not  come  any  more,"  said  Rina  in  a  tone 
of  quiet  fatalism.  "When  snow  hide  our  track,  he 
walk  round  and  round.  Bam-by  he  fall  down,  and 
not  get  up.  He  die.  He  know  that." 

Garth,  ready  to  push  into  the  storm,  reined  up  again. 
Her  sureness  chilled  his  impatient  hurry;  and  the 
oft-told  tragedies  of  prairie  snowstorms  recurred  to 
him. 

"Die  in  the  snow!"  he  repeated  dully,  hanging  in 
agonizing  indecision  between  the  two  images;  Natalie 
ahead,  and  the  solitary  boy  plodding  behind.  On 


308  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

the  one  hand  he  thought:  "The  storm  has  held  them 
up,  somewhere  just  ahead!  It  is  my  only  chance  of 
overtaking  them!"  and  then  he  turned  his  horse's 
head  north.  But  the  other  thought  would  not  down. 
"The  kid  knew  it  meant  death  to  walk;  and  he  chose 
it!"  Garth  finally  led  the  way  back  over  the  coulee. 

Rina  had  no  difficulty  making  herself  comfortable 
among  the  young  poplar  trees.  She  improvised  a 
shelter  out  of  a  blanket  stretched  over  two  inclined 
saplings;  and  in  front  of  it  she  built  a  fire.  Garth 
meanwhile  changed  to  the  fresher  horse,  and  started 
back  over  their  own  dimming  trail. 

"You  never  find  him  now,"  Rina  said  hopelessly, 
as  he  left  her. 

Garth  merely  set  his  jaw. 

His  watch  told  him  it  was  past  eleven.  He  cal- 
culated they  had  covered  five  miles  between  the  two 
coulees,  and  that  it  would  be  about  twenty-five  miles 
all  told  back  to  their  own  camping-place.  Supposing 
the  boy  to  have  averaged  three  miles  an  hour,  he  would 
now  be  some  twelve  miles  away,  and  if  he  kept  walking, 
Garth,  at  his  present  pace,  should  come  upon  him 
in  an  hour  and  a  half's  riding. 

The  marks  of  their  previous  passage  were  soon 
completely  obliterated;  and  thereafter  Garth  rode 
compass  in  hand.  With  the  wind  behind,  his  horse 
showed  a  better  stomach  for  travelling;  and  he  made 
the  first  coulee  in  something  under  an  hour.  Here 
a  little  search  revealed  the  half-burned  logs  of  Grylls's 


THE    BLIZZARD  309 

fire  under  the  snow;  and  this  put  him  directly  in  the 
path  again.  He  stood  up  the  logs,  to  make  a  better 
mark  against  his  return. 

He  began  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  boy,  fre- 
quently shouting  his  name.  His  voice,  muffled  by 
the  thickly  falling  flakes,  had  an  odd,  deadened  ring 
in  his  own  ears;  and  he  doubted  if  he  could  be  heard 
very  far.  When  he  considered  the  vast  width  of  the 
prairie,  and  the  extreme  improbability  of  two  figures, 
shaping  opposite  courses,  meeting  point-blank  in  the 
middle  of  it,  he  was  ready  to  despair  of  finding  the  boy. 
It  maddened  him  to  think  how  close  they  might  pass, 
without  either  being  aware. 

Later,  he  adopted  another  expedient.  Every  fifteen 
minutes  he  turned  his  horse  at  right  angles  to  his 
course,  and  galloping  far  to  the  right  and  left  searched 
the  snow  for  human  tracks;  then,  picking  up  his  trail 
where  he  left  it,  he  would  push  a  little  farther  ahead. 
In  this  way  he  could  sweep  a  path  about  a  mile  wide 
on  the  prairie. 

But  the  hours  passed,  and  the  snow  deepened,  and 
there  was  neither  sight  nor  sound  of  the  boy.  Garth 
was  not  sparing  of  his  bitter  self-reproaches  then,  for 
having  abandoned  him.  It  seemed  to  poor  Garth 
in  his  hopelessness,  as  if  his  whole  course  through  the 
country  had  been  marked  by  a  series  of  hideous  blun- 
ders. 

Less  than  three  hours  of  daylight  now  remained  to 
him,  and  he  was  all  of  ten  miles  from  his  own  base. 


310  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

He  dared  not  push  farther  away,  for,  little  as  he 
regarded  himself,  he  could  take  no  risks  while  Natalie's 
fate  still  hung  in  the  balance.  But  before  giving  up, 
he  determined  to  make  one  last  sortie  back  and  forth 
across  the  prairie.  Far  to  the  right,  just  as  hope  was 
expiring,  he  saw,  crossing  the  white  expanse,  a  crooked, 
double  row  of  slight  depressions,  like  little  moulds, 
slowly  filling  with  powdery  snow. 

Flinging  himself  off  his  horse,  with  a  beating  heart, 
he  hastily  scooped  out  the  snow.  A  man's  footprint 
was  clearly  revealed.  With  a  shout,  he  mounted 
again  and  jerked  his  horse's  head  around.  The 
weary  animal  balked  flatly  at  facing  the  storm,  but 
Garth,  beside  himself,  lashed  him  until  he  plunged 
into  it.  The  tracks  momentarily  grew  plainer.  While 
they  had  strayed  far  to  the  left  of  his  own  course,  he 
wondered  to  see  that  they  still  held  the  right  direction 
in  the  main. 

He  redoubled  his  shouting.  At  last  a  muffled, 
indistinguishable  sound  answered  him  from  ahead; 
and  presently  out  of  the  wild  whirl  of  flakes,  a  spectral 
figure  was  slowly  resolved  —  as  poignant  a  symbol  of 
humanity  as  the  last  man  on  earth. 

"Charley!     Charley!"   shouted  Garth. 

The  figure  turned  uncertainly.  Under  the  snow- 
laden  lashes  the  eyes  were  vague. 

Garth  slipped  out  of  the  saddle;  and,  throwing  his 
arm  about  the  boy's  shoulders,  caught  him  to  his  breast. 
"Thank  God!  I  was  in  time!"  he  cried  in  a  great  voice. 


THE    BLIZZARD  311 

"It's  really  you!"  the  boy  murmured.  "I  thought 
I  was  hearing  things." 

Garth  clapped  him  between  the  shoulders.  "Buck 
up,  my  hearty!"  he  cried.  "It's  all  right  now!" 

"Have  you  got  Natalie?"    the    boy   said    quickly. 

Garth  sadly  shook  his  head. 

"You  shouldn't  have  come  back  then,"  he  said 
dully.  "I  didn't  expect  it!" 

Garth  hugged  him  anew.  "Dear  lad!"  he  cried 
with  a  break  in  his  voice.  "I  couldn't  let  you  die 
in  the  snow!" 

The  kindness  brought  fuller  consciousness  back 
to  the  boy's  eyes.  He  clung  to  Garth  then;  and 
lowered  his  head;  and  whimpered  a  little.  After  all 
he  was  only  seventeen. 

Garth  hoisted  him  to  the  saddle;  and  headed 
into  the  storm  again.  The  horse  balked  continually, 
sorely  trying  his  patience.  Their  progress  was  very 
slow.  Garth  sought  to  keep  Charley  up  with  cheerful 
speech. 

"  Bully  for  you  to  keep  going!"  he  cried. 

"It  was  because  —  Natalie  might  need  me,"  the 
boy's  voice  trailed. 

"And  right  on  the  course!"  Garth  sang.  "How 
did  you  keep  it?" 

"When  the  snow  hid  your  tracks  —  I  remembered  — 
to  keep  the  wind  on  my  right  cheek,"  he  murmured. 

That  was  the  last  Garth  could  get  out  of  him.  He 
was  presently  alarmed  to  find  the  boy  growing  increas- 


312  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

ingly  numb  and  drowsy;  even  he  knew  what  this 
portended  in  the  North.  He  pulled  him  out  of  the 
saddle;  and  made  him  walk;  supporting  him  with 
one  arm,  while  with  the  other  he  led  the  horse.  The 
animal  took  advantage  of  his  partial  helplessness,  to 
plant  his  legs  and  pull  back  anew.  If  there  was  ever 
an  excuse  for  anger  against  a  dumb  beast,  surely 
hard-pressed  Garth  had  it  then.  The  horse  was 
crazed  with  exhaustion,  and  terror  of  the  storm;  and 
tugs  and  kicks  were  of  no  avail.  Garth  could  not 
bring  in  both  boy  and  horse  by  main  strength;  and 
in  the  end,  with  hearty  curses,  he  was  obliged  to  aban- 
don the  beast  to  his  fate. 

Garth,  pulling  his  hat  over  his  eyes,  and  drawing 
the  boy's  arm  across  his  shoulders,  doggedly  pushed 
into  the  storm.  He  thus  half  supported,  half  dragged 
his  companion,  who  was,  nevertheless,  compelled  to 
use  his  own  legs.  Charley  never  spoke  except  now 
and  then  to  beg  drowsily  to  be  let  alone.  In  Garth's 
flask  was  about  a  gill  of  precious  stimulant,  and,  when 
the  boy's  legs  failed  him,  he  doled  it  out  in  sips. 

They  had  at  least  nine  miles  to  cover  —  and  only 
two  hours  of  daylight  left.  Try  as  he  would  to  banish 
it,  the  sense  of  nine  miles'  distance  would  roll  itself 
interminably  out  before  Garth's  mind's  eye.  Nine 
miles  into  two  hours  —  the  sum  had  no  answer.  After- 
ward night  and  storm  on  the  empty  prairie  —  what 
was  the  use  ?  But  when  he  reached  this  point,  he  would 
grit  his  teeth  and  take  a  fresh  hold  of  the  boy.  If  he 


THE    BLIZZARD  313 

had  any  other  defined  thought  besides  this  painful 
round,  it  was  to  thank  God  that  he  was  strong;  he 
needed  every  ounce  of  it  now. 

Instead  of  attempting  to  pick  up  his  own  trail  - 
surely  obscured  by  now  in  the  snow  —  he  shaped  his 
course  northwest,  trusting  to  strike  the  coulee  at  its 
nearest  point,  and  travel  down  until  he  hit  the  mark 
he  had  set  up.  It  was  a  little  longer  so;  but  the  result 
justified  it,  for  there  was  some  shelter  in  the  coulee; 
and  working  down  the  bottom,  they  could  not  miss 
the  mark. 

It  was  half-past  four  by  Garth's  watch  when  they 
laboriously  climbed  up  the  other  side;  and  set  their 
course  by  compass  again  for  Rina's  camp.  It  grew 
colder  hourly;  and  the  snowflakes  became  as  hard 
and  sharp  as  grains  of  coarse  powder.  Charley  was 
kept  going  automatically  by  frequent  small  doses  of 
the  spirit  from  the  flask.  Garth  dared  not  spare  any 
of  it  for  himself.  It  soon  began  to  grow  dark;  and 
long  before  Garth  could  hope  they  had  nearly  covered 
the  distance  between  the  two  coulees,  it  became  totally 
dark;  and  he  could  no  longer  read  the  face  of  his 
compass.  Fortunately  the  wind  held  steady  from 
the  north;  he  struggled  ahead,  keeping  it  on  his  right 
cheek  as  Charley  had  done  before  him. 

Garth's  head  became  confused;  he  was  no  longer 
sensible  of  the  passage  of  time.  Only  his  will  kept 
his  legs  at  their  work.  Drowsiness  crept  over  him; 
and  with  it  a  growing  sense  of  the  uselessness  of  strug- 


314  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

gling  further.  He  fought  it  for  a  while,  but  with 
subsiding  energy.  His  knees  began  to  weaken  under 
him;  he  sank  down.  With  a  desperate  effort,  he 
struggled  up  again;  and  won  another  painful  hundred 
yards.  He  was  falling  again  —  and  this  time  he  did 
not  care  —  when  suddenly  the  ground  fell  away  from 
under  his  feet,  he  pitched  forward,  and  he  and  the  boy 
rolled  down  a  steep  declivity  together. 

Garth  instantly  knew  they  had  reached  the  second 
coulee;  and  the  thought  cleared  his  fogged  senses  like 
the  draught  from  his  flask  which  he  could  not  spare 
himself.  He  poured  the  last  drops  between  Charley's 
numb  lips;  and  turned  to  the  right  over  the  stony 
bed  of  the  watercourse.  He  remembered  Charley 
had  strayed  far  to  the  left  of  his  true  course  when 
guiding  himself  by  the  wind;  and  he  had  also  observed 
in  himself  a  tendency  to  swerve  to  that  side,  when 
working  by  compass.  So  he  was  sure  they  were 
somewhere  above  the  poplar  bluff  —  how  far  he  dared 
not  guess. 

He  was  right.  Utterly  worn  out  by  a  seeming 
interminable  struggle  through  the  drifts  in  the  bottom 
of  the  coulee,  at  last  a  misty,  pinkish  aura  blushed  in 
the  snowy  night.  It  was  Rina's  fire  —  warmth  and 
shelter!  and  before  it  a  little  animal  was  roasting  on  a 
spit.  Garth's  senses  slipped  away  in  rapture  at  the 
smell  it  sent  forth. 


XXIII 

THE  SOLITARY  PURSUER 

SOMETIME  during  the  course  of  the  night  the 
snow  ceased  to  fall;  and  morning  broke  clear 
and  cold.  Garth  had  turned  in,  intending 
to  rise  at  four;  but  Nature  exacted  her  due,  and 
it  was  seven  before  he  awoke.  The  sky  was  a  bowl 
of  palest,  fleckless  azure;  the  sun  shone  gloriously 
on  the  field  of  snow;  and  the  air  stung  the  nostrils  like 
the  heady  fumes  of  wine.  But  he  was  in  no  temper 
to  take  any  delight  in  morning  beauties;  he  ached  in 
every  bone  and  muscle  as  if  he  had  been  beaten  with 
a  club;  and  at  the  sight  of  the  mounting  sun,  he  bitterly 
reproached  himself  —  and  Rina,  for  the  lost  hours. 

As  for  Charley,  a  glance  at  the  boy  showed  that  he 
was  quite  incapable  of  further  travelling  for  the  present. 
He  suffered  as  much  from  the  blow  on  the  head  as 
from  the  exposure  in  the  snow.  His  mind  was  hope- 
lessly confused  and  wandering.  In  any  case  they  had 
but  a  single  horse  left;  and  only  the  one  course  of  action 
was  open  to  Garth.  He  instructed  Rina  to  remain 
where  she  was  and  care  for  the  boy,  while  he  pushed 
ahead. 

3'5 


316  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

Even  Rina  betrayed  some  surprise.  "What  you 
do?"  she  said.  "Three  men  to  shoot,  and  Mary  to 
watch  her.  You  got  no  chance!" 

"I'll  find  a  way!"  he  said  desperately.  "This 
Death  River,  tell  me  about  it!" 

Rina  pointed  northwest.  "Big  river,  moch  water," 
she  said.  "Come  from  mountains.  Ver'  moch  high 
falls;  mak'  lak  thunder!  Above  falls,  ver'  rough 
rapids,  no  can  cross.  Below  falls,  deep  black  hole; 
breeds  say  bad  spirits  go  there.  Only  one  place  to 
cross,  half-mile  below  falls." 

Garth  caught  the  horse,  who  had  fed  himself  as 
best  he  could  by  pawing  the  snow  off  the  grass,  and 
packed  his  blankets  and  a  supply  of  food,  including  what 
was  left  of  the  little  carcass  Rina  roasted.  He  learned 
it  was  a  lynx;  but  the  flesh  was  sweet,  and  he  was  too 
thankful  for  fresh  meat  to  quarrel  with  the  nature  of 
it.  He  left  Rina  and  Charley  with  a  better  will,  know- 
ing she  could  doubtless  get  others,  as  she  had  snared 
the  first. 

There  was  about  ten  inches  of  snow  on  the  flat, 
with  deep  encumbering  drifts  in  the  hollows;  and 
his  advance  was  very  slow.  The  ill-nourished  horse 
wearied  immediately;  and  any  pace  beyond  a  walk 
was  out  of  the  question.  Had  Garth  only  possessed 
snow-shoes  he  could  have  made  much  better  time  on 
foot.  The  vast  expanse  was  as  empty  as  a  clean  sheet 
of  paper;  nevertheless,  he  saw  the  prairie  was  not 
without  its  busy  population,  as  evidenced  by  the 


THE    SOLITARY    PURSUER        317 

number  of  tracks  of  little  furry  paws  that  had  crossed  his 
course  already  since  the  snow  finished  falling. 

At  noon,  having  made  about  eleven  miles  (he  figured), 
he  came  to  the  brink  of  a  coulee  wider  and  deeper  than 
any  they  had  crossed  hitherto;  and  which  contained 
a  stream  in  the  bottom,  running  blackly  around  snow- 
capped stones.  As  he  refreshed  himself,  and  allowed 
his  horse  to  drink,  he  reflected  that  Grylls  would  have 
reached  this  stream  the  day  before  about  the  time  the 
snow  commenced;  and  that  it  was  likely  the  outfit  had 
camped  on  its  bank  until  the  storm  passed.  He  deter- 
mined to  search  up  and  down  before  pushing  ahead. 

Sure  enough,  no  more  than  two  hundred  yards 
downstream  he  began  to  come  upon  the  tracks  of  horses 
and  saw  the  bare  patches  they  had  pawed  to  reach 
the  grass;  and  a  little  farther  he  ran  plump  upon  the 
fresh  remains  of  the  camp;  two  bare  spots  where  tents 
had  been  pitched,  the  ashes  of  a  fire,  and  innumerable 
tracks  of  men  and  horses  —  the  whole  startlingly 
conspicuous  in  the  sweep  of  unbroken  snow. 

Garth's  heart  swelled  with  rage  and  mortification 
to  think  what  a  little  distance  had  separated  them 
during  the  night;  and  how  by  rising  only  three  hours 
earlier,  he  might  perhaps  have  caught  them.  But 
presently  cooler  counsels  came  to  his  aid;  and  when 
he  considered  the  well-beaten  track  that  led  over  the 
hill  beyond,  he  was  thankful  for  so  much  luck.  He 
knew  that  at  least  until  more  snow  should  fall,  they 
could  never  shake  him  off  again;  and  he  rode  after 


318  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

with  a  renewed  courage.  His  horse,  too,  freed  of  the 
entangling  drifts,  and  sensing  the  other  horses  ahead, 
seemed  to  overcome  his  weakness  for  a  while;  and  loped 
over  the  beaten  trail  with  a  good  will. 

Beyond  this  coulee  the  character  of  the  country 
began  to  change.  Crossing  a  height,  Garth  saw  a  range 
of  gleaming  mountains  off  to  the  west  at  no  great 
distance;  his  course  was  heading  him  obliquely  into  the 
foothills.  The  prairie  gradually  broke  up;  the  mounds 
became  hills;  and  the  hollows  deepened  into  valleys. 
With  every  mile,  almost,  the  hills  became  higher  and 
more  conical;  outcroppings  of  rock  began  to  appear; 
and  the  little  streams  ran  in  gorges  now,  instead  of 
coulees. 

In  the  rougher  country  the  horse's  access  of  courage 
soon  failed.  His  wind  was  gone,  he  sobbed  for  breath; 
and  Garth  was  presently  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
leading  him  up  every  incline.  On  a  wide  flat  between 
two  ranges,  he  mounted  after  a  long  walk,  and  urged 
him  into  a  run  over  this  easy  piece.  The  slack-twisted 
animal  was  not  equal  to  the  effort;  halfway  across,  his 
heart  broke;  and  he  collapsed  in  a  heap,  ploughing  up 
the  snow,  and  flinging  his  rider  over  his  head.  When 
Garth  returned  to  him,  he  was  stone  dead.  In  the 
midst  of  his  chagrin  the  man  could  spare  a  glance  of 
pity  for  the  shaggy,  misshapen  beast.  One  of  the 
vulgar  equine  tribe,  at  his  best  neither  beautiful  nor 
courageous,  he  had  nevertheless  given  his  life  to  the 
journey. 


THE    SOLITARY    PURSUER        319 

Beside  the  stony  watercourse  that  traversed  this 
little  plain,  he  made  a  cache  of  saddle,  bridle  and 
what  food  he  could  not  carry  on  his  back.  Over  the 
spot  he  piled  a  cairn  of  stones  to  mark  it,  and  protect 
the  little  store  from  marauding  animals.  In  addition 
to  blankets,  rifle  and  ammunition,  he  carried  with  him 
food  sufficient  for  about  five  days.  In  an  hour  he  was 
on  his  way  again. 

During  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  the  following  day, 
the  character  of  the  country  changed  only  in  degree. 
The  trail  never  carried  him  directly  into  the  mountains, 
but  skirted  among  the  foothills,  which  raised  strange, 
abrupt,  detached  cones  on  either  hand  —  steep,  naked, 
unreasonable  shapes  of  earth,  like  nightmare  forms. 
Each  day  Garth  plodded  to  the  limit  of  his  strength, 
reckless  of  what  lay  before  him,  regarding  only  the 
beaten  trail  which  led  the  way.  From  various  signs 
it  was  clear  those  ahead  ever  gained  on  him;  but  he 
kept  himself  up  with  the  thought  that  they  must  sooner  or 
later  make  an  extended  stop  to  recuperate  their  horses. 
Each  night  he  made  his  tea  with  snow-water;  and, 
rolling  up  in  his  blankets  beside  the  fire,  slept  under 
the  stars;  and  at  dawn  he  was  astir  again.  Hard  work 
was  his  beneficent  sedative. 

On  the  second  night  as  he  lay  down  he  heard,  or 
fancied  he  heard  in  the  stillness,  the  breath  of  a  far-off, 
heavy  sound.  He  ascribed  it  to  the  roar  of  the 
great  falls  Rina  had  told  him  of;  and  the  thought 
lent  new  vigour  to  his  limbs  next  morning.  He  had 


320  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

another  reason  to  hurry  his  steps;  for  each  day  had 
waxed  a  little  warmer;  and  to-day  the  snow  melted 
fast,  threatening  at  last  to  obliterate  the  track  he 
followed. 

In  the  afternoon  the  going  became  harder,  for  the 
mountains  reached  down  long  spurs  athwart  his  path, 
over  which  he  had  to  toil.  Like  the  conical  hills  they 
were  bare  of  all  timber;  only  the  valleys  and  gulches 
were  wooded.  On  the  first  of  these  ascents,  burdened 
as  he  was,  over-exertion  and  insufficient  sleep  began 
to  tell  on  Garth;  and  he  became  conscious,  for  the  first, 
of  a  terrible  weariness  in  his  back.  He  crushed  it 
down;  he  could  not  fail;  he  had  to  keep  on.  But  the 
next  ascent  was  harder  still;  and  the  shape  of  fear  grew 
in  his  breast. 

The  third  long  climb  was  nearly  his  finish.  He 
would  not  allow  himself  to  pause  on  the  way  up,  though 
his  heart  knocked  sickeningly  against  his  ribs,  while 
flames  danced  in  front  of  his  eyes,  and  there  was  a 
roaring  in  his  ears.  Gaining  the  summit  at  last, 
he  flung  himself  down,  afraid  for  the  moment  to  look 
at  the  obstacles  beyond.  As  he  slowly  recovered,  a 
real  booming  disassociated  itself  from  the  noises  in  his 
head;  and  he  eagerly  raised  his  head.  His  eyes  swept 
over  a  far  and  wide  expanse  of  snow,  a  dishlike  plateau 
among  the  hills.  His  heart  leaped;  for  through  the 
centre  of  the  plateau  ran  a  black  fissure,  like  a  crack  in 
the  dish;  and  off  to  the  left  a  fleecy  cloud  rose  lazily 
from  the  gorge,  blushing  pinkly  in  the  light  of  the 


THE    SOLITARY    PURSUER        321 

setting  sun.  This  must  mark  the  falls;  the  Death 
River  lay  at  his  feet. 

The  excitement  of  this  discovery  was  immediately 
superseded  by  a  far  greater.  In  a  direct  line  with  him, 
on  the  plain  beyond  the  gorge,  he  presently  distinguished 
a  few  scattering,  black  objects  like  insects  on  the  snow 
-  but  insects  of  the  shape  of  horses.  From  the  gorge 
itself,  perfectly  distinct  in  the  crystalline  air,  rose  a 
thin,  blue  column  of  smoke ! 

The  haggard  furrows  in  Garth's  face  smoothed 
out;  his  weary  eyes  shot  forth  a  quiet  glint;  and  he 
slowly  and  grimly  smiled.  He  arose;  and  instinctively 
unslinging  his  gun,  examined  the  mechanism.  A 
goodly  warmth  diffused  itself  throughout  his  veins; 
and  he  felt  strong  again.  The  end  of  his  journey  was 
in  sight. 

Darkness  had  fallen  before  he  reached  the  lip  of 
the  canyon.  With  bated  breath  he  crawled  to  the 
edge  and  looked  over  —  there  was  a  chance  they 
had  escaped  him  again  —  but  in  the  bottom  of  the  pit, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  a  fire  was  flickering  redly 
in  the  darkness;  and  there  was  a  hint  of  figures  sitting 
around  it.  His  heart  beat  strongly  at  the  reassuring 
sight. 

The  tracks  in  the  snow  led  him  to  the  top  of  the 
path,  which  descended  into  the  gorge.  This  path  was 
steep,  narrow,  tortuous  and  slippery;  and  he  knew  not 
what  conditions  awaited  him  at  the  bottom.  Prudence 
counselled  him  to  wait  for  daylight  to  reconnoitre; 


322  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

but  it  was  not  possible  to  contain  his  impatience  the 
night  through,  with  Natalie  so  near,  and  he  not  knowing 
if  she  was  safe.  He  started  down  instantly,  feeling  his 
way  foot  by  foot;  and  ever  careful  to  dislodge  no  stone 
that  might  betray  him.  Within  the  gorge  the  boom 
of  the  falls  was  largely  deadened  by  a  bend  in  the  walls 
above;  and  lighter  sounds  became  audible:  the  lapping 
of  the  river  on  the  stones;  and,  as  he  came  nearer, 
some  one  breaking  sticks  for  the  fire  below. 

Between  him  and  the  fire  rolled  the  river  with  a 
deep,  swift  current.  There  was  no  more  than  a  scant 
fifty  yards  between  wall  and  wall  of  the  gorge  at  the 
bottom.  Coming  still  closer,  he  saw  by  the  light  of 
the  fire  that  their  camp  was  pitched  on  a  triangle  of 
flat  ground,  formed  where  a  steep  watercourse  had  made 
a  perpendicular  fissure  in  the  opposite  wall  of  the  gorge. 
On  one  side  of  the  fire  was  pitched  a  small  "outside" 
tent  —  the  same  tent  Garth  had  watched  so  long  when 
it  stood  outside  Mabyn's  shack  —  and  on  the  other 
side  stood  a  tepee.  A  small  raft,  half  drawn  out  of  the 
water,  explained  their  means  of  crossing  the  river. 

The  descending  path  finally  landed  Garth  on  a 
precipitous  incline  of  broken  rock  at  the  water's  edge; 
and  there,  across  the  stream,  so  close  he  could  have 
tossed  a  pebble  into  their  midst,  sat  those  he  had 
tracked  so  far,  all  unsuspicious  of  his  nearness.  They 
were  having  their  evening  meal.  Natalie  was  among 
them,  facing  him,  the  firelight  strong  on  her.  Her 
face  was  set  and  sad  —  but  still  unhumbled;  and  from 


THE    SOLITARY    PURSUER        323 

this  and  the  obsequious  poise  of  Grylls's  head,  when 
he  turned  to  her,  Garth  knew  she  was  so  far  safe  from 
him.  His  heart  breathed  a  still  hymn  of  thankfulness. 

Grylls  sat  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire,  with  his  back 
against  a  rock.  He  still  wore  the  bewrinkled  suit  of 
store  clothes  which  had  become  so  hateful  in  Garth's 
sight;  and  the  broad-brimmed  hat  was  set  at  a  rakish 
angle.  He  was  in  a  jovial  humour,  judging  from  the 
thick  unction  of  his  speech;  doubtless,  though  he  seldom 
looked  at  her,  in  his  own  way  he  was  seeking  to  charm 
his  cold  and  silent  prisoner. 

Mabyn's  back  was  turned  to  Garth;  his  attitude 
was  furtive;  and  apparently  he  spoke  little.  Garth  did 
not  trouble  about  him;  for  he  knew  instinctively  that 
so  long  as  the  stronger  man  was  by,  Natalie  stood  in  no 
danger  from  Mabyn.  Mary  Co-que-wasa,  serving  the 
food,  hovered  behind  the  fire,  which  threw  a  strange, 
exaggerated  shadow  of  her  haglike  form  on  the  cliff. 
Nearer  Garth,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  others,  Xavier 
sat  on  the  ground,  busy  with  his  cup  and  plate. 

Garth  watched  Natalie  with  a  swelling  heart.  How 
brave  she  was!  how  noble  and  befitting  the  air  with 
which  she  faced  her  terrible  situation!  The  proud 
sadness  of  her  face  was  infinitely  more  affecting  than 
any  extreme  of  distress  could  have  been.  Garth  bled 
inwardly,  to  think  of  the  torments  of  mind  she  must 
have  endured.  He  yearned  mightily  to  let  her  know 
he  was  near.  He  crouched  at  the  edge  of  the  water, 
willing  a  message  of  cheer  to  her;  and  heartened 


324  TWO    ONTHE    TRAIL 

himself  with  the  assurance  that  she  could  not  but  feel 
it. 

She  ate  little;  and,  presently  arising,  disappeared 
within  the  tent.  Grylls  drew  out  the  inevitable  cigars, 
and,  carelessly  tossing  one  to  Mabyn,  lit  his  own. 
Mary  went  about  collecting  the  dishes.  Xavier  carried 
his  plate  to  the  river  side  to  wash  it.  Garth  handled 
his  rifle  with  fingers  itching  for  the  trigger.  There 
were  the  four  of  them,  all  unconscious,  delivered  into 
his  hands,  it  seemed. 

But  he  spared  them  for  a  while.  It  was  not  that  he 
shrank  from  shedding  blood  now;  taking  their  lives 
troubled  him  no  more  than  killing  so  much  vermin. 
But,  close  as  they  were,  he  could  not  be  sure  of  nailing 
them  all;  a  dive  outside  the  firelight,  and  they  were 
safe.  And  Natalie  was  in  their  hands;  and  he  had  no 
way  of  crossing  the  river.  He  must  rescue  her  first. 

Mary  went  into  the  tent,  which  she  apparently  shared 
with  Natalie;  and  presently  reappeared  with  a  dish- 
towel.  Lifting  a  pail  of  hot  water  from  the  fire,  she 
prepared  to  wash  the  dishes.  The  fire  was  dying  down, 
and  gathering  an  armful  of  brush,  she  heaped  it  on  to 
make  a  light. 

Too  late  Garth  appreciated  the  significance  of  this 
act.  He  turned  to  escape  up  the  path  again;  and 
in  his  hurry  dislodged  a  heavy  stone,  which  rolled  into 
the  water  with  a  splash.  He  faced  about  with  his  rifle 
ready.  Only  Xavier,  at  the  water's  edge,  heard  the 
sound,  and  looked  up.  At  the  same  instant  the  fire 


THE    SOLITARY    PURSUER        325 

sprang  into  a  blaze,  filling  the  canyon  with  light;  and 
plainly  revealing  Garth  and  his  shadow  behind  him 
on  the  rock.  The  breed  sprang  to  his  feet  with  a  cry 
of  warning.  It  was  the  last  sound,  save  one,  that  he 
ever  made.  The  sharp,  light  bark  of  Garth's  rifle 
reverberated  in  the  gorge;  the  breed  spun  around  with 
a  throaty,  quenched  cry,  toppled  over  backward  into 
deep  water,  and  was  swept  away. 

Before  Garth  could  aim  again,  Mary  Co-que-wasa 
seized  her  pail  of  water,  and  flung  it  hissing  on  the  fire. 
Absolute  darkness  filled  the  canyon. 


XXIV 
IN  DEATH  CANYON 

GARTH  crouched  at  the  water's  edge,  striving 
to  pierce  the  murk  with  his  eyes;  but  the 
blackness  was  like  a  wall.  By  and  by  the 
outlying  embers  of  the  fire  began  to  glow  faintly;  but 
there  was  another  splash,  and  every  spark  was  quenched. 
Bending  his  head,  he  strained  his  ears.  For  a  long 
time  there  was  no  sound  from  across  the  river;  then 
little  by  little,  and  softly,  he  heard  them  set  to  work 
like  mice  behind  a  wainscot.  There  was  a  singular, 
measured  falling  of  stones,  which  at  first  he  could  not 
interpret;  then  it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  they  were 
building  a  barricade  across  their  little  terrace;  and  he 
took  heart;  for  the  act  was  opposed  to  any  design  of 
immediate  flight.  But  then,  he  thought,  Mary,  behind 
the  wall,  could  easily  hold  the  crossing  by  daylight, 
while  the  two  men  escaped  with  Natalie.  Somehow, 
he  must  get  across  first. 

He  searched  noiselessly  among  the  stones  above  the 
water  line  for  driftwood;  and  succeeded  in  picking  up 
a  stick  here  and  a  branch  there.  Four  of  the  stouter 
pieces  he  tied  in  a  square  with  the  rope  that  bound 

326 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  327 

his  pack;  and  upon  this  frame  he  piled  a  crib  of  sticks, 
of  sufficient  buoyancy  to  float  his  clothes,  his  pack  and 
his  gun.  He  stripped  to  the  skin  and  waded  cautiously 
into  the  water.  It  was  of  an  icy  coldness  that  bit  like 
a  great  burn,  and  forced  the  breath  out  of  his  lungs  like 
a  squeezed  bellows.  But  he  set  his  jaws  and  struck  out, 
towing  his  little  raft  with  the  end  of  the  rope  between 
his  teeth. 

He  headed  straight  across,  leaving  it  to  the  current 
to  carry  him  safely  below  the  camp.  Ordinarily, 
fifty  strokes  would  have  carried  him  over,  but  the 
terrible  cold  congealed  the  very  sap  of  his  body;  and  the 
clumsy  little  raft  offered  as  much  resistance  as  a  log. 
He  could  not  tell  how  far  he  was  carried  down.  Reach- 
ing the  other  side  at  last,  he  could  scarcely  crawl  out 
on  the  stones.  He  was  too  stiff  to  attempt  to  draw  on 
his  clothes;  the  best  he  could  do  was  to  roll  in 
his  blankets,  and  writhe  to  restore  the  circulation. 

His  limbs  were  rigid;  his  feet  and  hands  wholly 
numb  —  but  the  will  rules  even  bodily  exhaustion.  He 
would  not  tolerate  the  thought  of  weakness;  he  would 
get  warm;  and  his  reluctant  blood  was  forced  at  last  to 
resume  its  course  through  his  veins.  Warmth  returned 
with  excruciating  pain.  He  conceded  his  worn  body 
a  little  rest  —  for  he  knew  they  could  not  get  their 
horses  before  morning  —  but  in  an  hour,  dressed,  and 
with  his  pack  and  his  gun  on  his  back,  he  was  crawling 
back  toward  Grylls's  camp. 

This  shore  of  the  river,  like  the  other,  was  formed  of 


328  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

fragments  and  masses  of  rock,  which  had  fallen  from 
the  cliffs  above.  He  made  his  way  with  infinite  caution, 
giving  heed  to  every  foothold,  and  feeling  before  him 
with  his  hands.  Fortunately  there  was  little  snow 
to  obstruct  him;  for  what  had  descended  into  the  gorge 
was  lodged  in  the  crevices  of  the  stones.  He  crawled 
over  heaps  of  rubble,  digging  his  toes  in,  to  keep  from 
sliding  into  the  water;  and  there  were  great  hundred- 
ton  boulders,  over  which  he  dragged  himself  on  his 
stomach.  Above  the  canyon  there  were  no  stars  visible; 
and  below,  it  was  wrapped  in  darkness,  thick,  velvety, 
palpable  as  lamp-black. 

After  measuring  the  inches  of  a  long  and  painful 
journey  over  the  stones,  he  sensed  at  last  that  he  was 
drawing  near  the  camp  again.  He  redoubled  his 
caution,  hugging  close  to  the  wall  of  rock.  Presently 
it  fell  away  to  the  right;  and  before  him  he  distinguished 
a  faint  whitish  blur  that  he  knew  for  the  tepee.  He 
stretched  himself  out  to  listen.  Under  all  was  the 
deadened  boom  of  the  falls;  below  him  an  indefinable 
murmur  arose  from  the  smooth  river,  and  an  occasional 
eddy  slapped  the  stones;  in  front  he  was  vaguely  con- 
scious of  the  three  persons  moving  to  and  fro,  and  he 
heard  the  dull  chink  of  each  stone,  as  it  ground  its 
edges  on  the  pile.  They  had  relaxed  their  caution 
somewhat;  once  or  twice  a  stone,  rolling  out  of  place, 
plumped  into  the  water.  They  were  at  work  at  the 
other  end  of  their  barricade  from  Garth. 

He  considered  what  he  should  do.     His  brain  was 


320 

working  very  clearly  —  dragging  his  exhausted  body 
along  after,  as  it  were;  for  excitement  and  over-exertion 
had  produced  a  curious  feeling  of  detachment  from  it. 
As  he  waited  there,  the  work  on  the  barricade  ceased; 
and  a  whispered  consultation  was  held.  If  he  could 
only  hear!  Afterward  two  figures  approached  the 
tepee  and  entered.  Instantly  Garth  let  himself  down 
over  the  rocks  behind,  and  snaking  his  body  through 
the  bit  of  herbage  on  the  flat,  applied  his  ear  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canvas. 

He  heard  Mabyn's  voice  ask  querulously:  "What 
was  it  you  said  to  her?" 

"Told  her  to  sit  on  top  of  the  wall,  and  watch," 
Grylls  carelessly  answered.  "They  can't  cross  the 
river  until  morning,  but  we're  not  taking  any  chances, 
just  the  same.  She's  to  watch,  too,  that  the  lady 
doesn't  try  to  sneak  the  raft  across  to  her  friends." 

"  You're  going  to  clear  out  in  the  morning  ? "  Mabyn 
asked  anxiously. 

" Not  on  your  life ! "  the  other  coolly  returned.  "  We 
got  shelter  and  good  water  here,  the  horses  are  safe 
above;  and  we  command  the  only  crossing  of  the  river. 
We'll  sit  right  here  until  their  grub  runs  out.  They 
can't  have  brought  much!" 

"The  police  may  hear,"  Mabyn  murmured. 

"Let  'em  come  and  welcome,"  said  Grylls.  "They 
know  me !  As  for  you,  I  guess  a  man  can  take  a  journey 
with  his  lawful  wife,  can't  he  ?" 

There  was  a  pause.     A  match  was  struck.     Garth 


330  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

guessed    that   Grylls    was    resuming   his    interrupted 
smoke. 

"Seems  to  me  we  hold  pretty  much  all  the  trumps," 
he  went  on  complacently.  "My  idea  is,  Pevensey's 
all  alone  over  there.  That  was  a  pretty  smart  rap  on 
the  nut,  the  boy  got.  But  even  if  there's  two  of  them, 
what  can  they  do  ?  We've  got  cover,  and  they've  got 
to  show  themselves;  it's  a  funny  thing  if  we  can't 
pot  them  easy.  We  got  a  right  to;  they  killed  our  man 
first." 

"Hadn't  I  better  ride  on  with  her  to  the  Slavi 
Indians  ? "  Mabyn  suggested  in  a  tone  that  he  laboured 
to  make  sound  off-hand. 

Grylls  chuckled  fatly.  "What!  And  deprive  me 
of  the  pleasure  of  her  company!"  he  said  mockingly. 
"I  guess  not!" 

Mabyn  was  silent.  Garth  dimly  apprehended  what 
a  torment  of  impotent  fear  and  rage  the  creature  must 
be  enduring.  He  had  delivered  himself  hand  and  foot 
into  Grylls's  power;  and  Grylls  no  longer  even  kept  up 
a  pretense  of  hiding  his  own  designs  on  Natalie. 

"Better  turn  in,"  Grylls  said  indifferently.  "No 
need  for  you  to  watch  to-night.  I'll  have  a  snooze 
myself,  and  go  out  and  relieve  Mary  before  dawn." 

Garth  had  heard  enough;  they  were  all  placed  for 
him;  and  his  way  was  clear.  He  softly  drew  himself 
around  the  further  side  of  the  tepee,  pausing  long 
between  every  move,  to  listen.  Both  their  lives 
depended  on  his  making  no  sound  now;  every  faculty 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  331 

he  possessed  was  bent  on  it;  he  took  half  an  hour  to 
make  thirty  feet.  He  circled  the  inside  edge  of  the 
little  triangle  of  flat  ground,  keeping  in  the  shadow  of 
the  piled  rocks.  Crossing  the  little  stream  that  issued 
over  the  flat  was  hardest;  but  he  managed  it;  patiently 
studying  each  move  in  advance.  Finally  he  approached 
the  tent.  Beyond,  he  fancied  he  could  distinguish 
the  vague  outline  of  the  wall  running  across;  and  upon  it 
a  huddled  figure,  a  mere  hint  of  substance  against  the 
pit  of  darkness  behind. 

He  felt  his  way  around  the  tent.  He  found  the  canvas 
of  the  back  wall  was  made  in  one  piece.  With  shaking 
fingers,  he  drew  his  knife  out  of  its  sheath;  and  inserting 
the  point  in  the  centre  of  the  stuff,  softly  drew  it  back 
and  forth,  a  stroke  at  a  time.  His  heart  was  beating 
like  a  steam  drill;  he  swallowed  his  sobbing  breath. 
Every  instant  he  expected  to  hear  Natalie  scream  from 
within. 

He  severed  the  last  thread  at  last;  and  put  up  his 
knife.  He  parted  the  flaps;  and  listened  for  sounds 
from  within  in  an  agony  of  indecision.  He  could  not 
tell  if  she  slept  or  was  awake;  he  dared  not  so  much  as 
whisper  her  name;  and  if  he  touched  her  and  she  slept, 
how  could  she  help  but  awake  with  a  cry! 

But  she  was  not  asleep;  and  she  had  all  her  wits 
about  her.  Close  to  his  ear,  a  voice  soft  as  a  zephyr 
in  the  grass  whispered  his  name.  A  trembling  breath 
of  relief  escaped  his  lips;  and  instantly  an  arm  was 
wreathed  about  his  neck;  and  a  soft  cheek  pressed 


332  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

against  his  rough  one.  He  caught  her  to  him;  her 
slim  frame  quivered  through  and  through.  It  was  his 
own  Natalie;  the  feel  of  her!  the  fragrance  of  her! 
Life  holds  but  one  such  moment. 

"I  knew  you'd  come!  I  knew  you'd  come!"  she 
breathed  in  his  ear. 

Her  terrible  agitation  was  the  means  of  calming  his 
own.  He  had  to  be  cool  for  both.  He  pressed  her 
close  to  him,  stroking  her  hair. 

"Brave,  brave  Natalie!"  he  whispered.  "Not  a 
sound,  till  we  are  clear!" 

He  gave  her  a  moment  to  recover  herself,  letting  his 
encircling  arms  speak  the  comfort  and  cheer  he  could 
not  utter.  Little  by  little  the  piteous  trembling  subsided 
and  the  rigid  form  relaxed. 

"  Ready,  now  ?"  he  whispered. 

She  eagerly  nodded. 

"I  lead  the  way,"  he  breathed  in  her  ear;  "and  you 
keep  close  at  my  heels.  Take  it  easy.  It  must  be 
hands  and  knees,  and  an  inch  at  a  time." 

Natalie  pressed  his  hand  to  her  lips. 

He  crawled  through  the  hole,  and  waited  for  her 
outside.  She  made  no  sound.  He  touched  her 
reassuringly;  and  realized  with  a  pang  how  she  was 
handicapped,  with  one  arm  in  a  sling.  They  crept 
back  around  the  foot  of  the  piled  rocks,  dragging 
themselves  with  tense  muscles,  a  foot  at  a  time  and 
waiting  long  between.  By  the  touch  of  her  hand  on 
his  foot  he  knew  she  followed  close.  Looking  over 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  333 

his  shoulder,  he  sensed  the  huddled  figure  still  motion- 
less on  the  wall. 

He  could  not  have  told  what  gave  the  alarm.  They 
had  reached  the  rivulet,  when  suddenly  Mary  leaped  off 
the  wall  with  a  cry  that  brought  the  two  men  tumbling 
out  of  the  tepee. 

Garth,  springing  to  his  feet,  seized  Natalie's  hand, 
and  pulled  her  after  him. 

"Come  on!"  he  whispered  cheerily.  "We're  safe 
now!" 

They  scrambled  up  over  the  stones  of  the  water- 
course, careless  of  the  noise  they  made. 

"What  is  it  ?"  they  heard  Grylls  shout  below. 

A  sentence  in  Cree  explained. 

"Watch  the  raft!"  he  shouted.   "I'll  bring  her  back!" 

They  heard  him  run  heavily  toward  them.  Hastily 
unslinging  his  gun,  Garth  sent  a  shot  at  random 
through  the  darkness.  They  heard  the  bullet  spring 
off  a  stone.  The  steps  ceased. 

"By  God!  he's  up  there!"  cried  Grylls  thickly. 
"Come  back,  Mabyn!  We'll  get  'em  easy  in  the 
morning!" 

There  was  no  further  sound  of  pursuit. 

As  they  climbed,  Garth  searched  from  side  to  side, 
as  well  as  he  could  in  the  darkness,  for  a  suitable  spot 
to  make  a  stand.  High  above  the  level  of  the  river, 
a  huge  cube  of  rock  resting  squarely  in  the  bottom  of 
the  ravine,  and  forcing  the  stream  to  travel  around  it, 
offered  what  he  wanted.  One  side  of  the  boulder 


334  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

lay  against  a  steep  rocky  wall;  and  in  the  angle  was  a 
secure  niche  for  Natalie. 

Her  courage  failed  a  little  when  she  saw  he  meant 
to  stop.  "Not  here!  Not  here!"  she  protested 
nervously.  "We  must  put  miles  between  us  before 
morning!" 

"The  way  home  lies  back  across  the  river,"  Garth 
said  gently. 

"Then  why  did  you  come  up  here  ?"  she  said  a  little 
wildly.  "They'll  never  let  us  back!" 

His  heart  ached  for  her,  at  the  thought  of  what 
she  must  still  go  through.  "Courage!  for  one  more 
day,  my  Natalie!"  he  urged,  drawing  her  to  him. 
"We  can't  start  without  horses  and  food,  and  those  I 
have  to  win  for  you !" 

"You  make  me  ashamed!"  she  whispered. 
He  heard  no  more  whimpering. 

Garth,  appreciating  the  vital  necessity  of  sleep, 
if  he  was  to  keep  his  wits  about  him  next  day,  lay  down 
in  his  blankets  while  Natalie  kept  watch.  With  the 
first  tinge  of  gray  overhead,  she  woke  him,  as  he  had 
bidden  her. 

"If  we  only  had  a  good  breakfast  to  begin  on!" 
were  his  waking  words;  "and  there's  nothing  but  raw 
flour  and  water." 

Natalie,  in  answer  to  this  prayer,  produced  a  flat 
package  from  her  dress  which  proved  to  contain  bread 
and  meat.  "  I  always  kept  something,  in  case  I  should 
be  able  to  get  away,"  she  explained. 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  335 

They  ate,  sitting  quietly  side  by  side  in  the  darkness 
—  they  could  even  laugh  a  little  together  now  —  and 
they  arose  vastly  refreshed. 

Garth  climbed  the  big  rock  to  wait  for  daylight 
to  reveal  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  the  position 
he  had  chosen.  The  top  of  the  rock  formed  a  flat 
plane  slightly  inclined  toward  their  rear;  and,  lying  at 
full  length  upon  it,  he  could  shoot  over  the  edge  without 
exposing  more  than  the  top  of  his  head.  He  lifted 
up  a  heavy  stone  or  two;  and  stood  them  along  the 
edge  for  further  protection.  Then  he  waited  — 
waited  for  hours  it  seemed  to  him;  looking  and  looking 
down  the  ravine  until  his  eyes  were  fit  to  start  out  of 
his  head;  and  he  could  see  nothing;  but  lo!  when  he 
looked  again  the  light  was  there! 

On  the  whole  he  was  satisfied.  His  rock  commanded 
the  entire  ravine  below;  it  was  as  steep  as  a  pair  of 
stairs.  There  was  not  a  stick  of  herbage  below;  only 
a  trough  of  heaped  and  broken  rock  masses.  On 
either  hand  they  were  shut  in  by  straight  lead-coloured 
walls  of  rock;  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  the 
forbidding,  mist-gray  wall  of  the  main  gorge  cut  off 
the  view.  In  front  and  on  the  left  they  were  amply 
protected;  their  right  flank  was  the  weak  spot.  Above 
them  on  this  side,  part  of  the  wall  of  the  ravine 
had  given  way  some  ages  past;  and  a  bit  of  the 
plain  had  sunk  down.  The  hollow  thus  formed 
contained  a  grove  of  gaunt  trees  and  underbrush.  If 
their  assailants,  under  cover  of  the  rocks  on  the  way, 


336  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

ever  climbed  to  it,  Garth  and  Natalie  would  be 
badly  off  indeed. 

It  was  a  grim  figure  that  the  first  rays  of  light  revealed 
sitting  on  the  big  rock.  Garth  had  lost  his  hat  long 
ago;  and  he  was  both  unshaven  and  unshorn.  He 
crouched,  hugging  his  knees,  with  his  rifle  across  his 
thighs;  and  his  sheepskin  coat  hung  over  his  shoulders 
ready  to  fling  off,  when  he  needed  to  act.  The  flannel 
shirt  beneath  was  in  rags;  and  his  moccasins,  mere 
apologies  for  foot-coverings.  But  to  Natalie,  regarding 
the  cool,  bright  shine  of  his  eyes,  as  he  smiled  down  on 
her,  he  was  wholly  beautiful.  She  was  scarcely  better 
off;  her  pale  face  was  enframed  in  a  sad  wreck  of 
a  limp,  stained  felt  hat;  but  she  could  smile  too;  and 
Garth  had  never  found  her  lovelier  in  her  bravery. 

The  suspense  was  well-nigh  intolerable  —  and  so 
they  fell  to  chaffing. 

"If  mother  could  only  see  us  now!"  said  Garth  with 
a  grin. 

"I  feel  like  a  white  cat  coming  out  of  a  coal-bin," 
said  Natalie.  "'What's  the  use!'  she  says,  looking 
round  at  herself.  'The  job  is  too  big  to  tackle.  If  I 
was  only  a  black  cat  it  wouldn't  show !' ' 

"You  could  walk  right  on  as  Liz,  the  girl  bandit  of 
the  Rockies,"  said  Garth. 

"Don't  you  talk!"  she  retorted.  "You  look  as  if 
Liz  had  missed  her  cue,  and  you'd  been  through  the 
sawmill !" 

And  then  Garth  saw  a  black  sleeve  sticking  out 


It  was  a  grim  figure  that  the  first  rays  of  light  revealed  sitting 
on  the  big  rock 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  337 

from  behind  a  rock  in  the  ravine  below;  and  he  got  down 
to  business.  A  little  sigh  of  relief  escaped  him  at  the 
sight  of  his  enemies  at  last.  He  fired.  The  shot  went 
wide. 

Natalie  sank  back  in  her  corner,  deathly  pale;  and 
with  a  hand  over  her  lips,  to  keep  from  crying  out. 
Her  part  was  harder  than  his. 

He  called  down  to  her  reassuringly.  "All  right! 
Only  a  try-out!" 

Further  down,  a  second  figure  showed  briefly, 
scrambling  up  the  right-hand  side  of  the  trough. 
Garth  fired  —  a  fraction  of  a  second  too  late.  He 
could  scarcely  credit  such  nimble  agility  in  a  figure  so 
gross.  It  was  Grylls.  Thus  two  of  them  were 
accounted  for.  Searching  for  the  third,  he  saw  the 
black  crown  of  a  hat  projecting  above  a  stone  on  the 
other  side  of  the  ravine.  This  was  an  easy  shot;  he 
aimed  and  fired  with  a  savage  satisfaction.  The  hat 
disappeared;  but  again  he  knew,  somehow,  that  his 
bullet  had  not  found  its  mark. 

At  the  same  moment  Grylls  won  a  rock  a  yard  higher 
up.  He  was  not  coming  up  the  bottom  of  the  ravine, 
but  aiming  obliquely  up  the  side  for  the  trees  high 
above.  Garth,  grimly  covering  his  shelter,  saw  him 
bob  his  head  around;  a  bare,  cropped,  tousled  head, 
like  a  hiding  schoolboy's.  Quick  as  he  was  with  the 
trigger,  Grylls  was  quicker.  The  bullet  flattened  itself 
harmlessly  beyond. 

As  he  shot  there  was  a  scramble  across  the  ravine; 


338  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

and  he  saw  the  other  figure  had  mounted.  The  hat, 
Mabyn's  hat,  again  showed;  and  he  took  another  shot 
at  it.  This  time  the  bullet  knocked  it  spinning  off  the 
rifle  barrel  which  upheld  it;  and  in  a  flash  Garth  under- 
stood how  neatly  they  were  fooling  him.  Each  in 
turn  drew  his  fire,  while  the  other  made  an  advance. 
He  resolved  to  shoot  no  more. 

Meanwhile  the  first  one  he  had  glimpsed,  which 
must  be  Mary,  had  not  moved  from  the  middle  of  the 
ravine.  Some  of  the  stones  were  moved,  and  he  guessed 
she  had  made  a  permanent  shelter  there.  There  was 
a  shot  from  below,  and  the  bullet  spattered  itself  on 
the  heavy  base  of  rock.  Holding  his  hand,  Garth 
awaited  a  second  shot.  He  saw  a  tiny  white  pufF  at 
last,  and  marked  the  aperture  whence  it  issued.  The 
bullet  hurtled  whiningly  overhead.  Steadying  his  gun 
on  the  edge  of  the  rock,  he  took  careful  aim  —  but  the 
other  spoke  first.  It  was  a  marvellous  shot  —  or  a 
chance  one.  The  bullet  splintered  the  edge  of  the  stone 
protecting  Garth's  head,  and  sang  off.  A  jagged  sliver 
of  stone  ploughed  across  the  back  of  his  extended  hand. 
He  exclaimed  as  in  casual  surprise,  and  his  gun  exploded 
harmlessly  in  the  air.  He  looked  at  his  hand  stupidly 
as  at  an  alien  member;  then  suddenly  he  understood; 
and  whipping  out  his  handkerchief,  bound  up  the 
wound,  knotting  the  linen  with  teeth  and  fingers. 

Up  to  this  moment  Garth  had  been  playing  a  dis- 
passionate game;  but  he  returned  to  his  loophole 
conscious  of  a  great  surge  of  cold  rage  against  those 


339 

below.  He  yearned  to  get  even;  but  he  could  wait 
for  it.  Mabyn  exposed  his  hat  tantalizingly;  Grylls 
shot  out  a  foot,  or  bobbed  up  his  head  —  but  Garth 
saved  his  bullets.  He  would  not  even  try  to  pierce 
the  sharpshooters*  defenses  again.  An  occasional 
shot  came  from  there;  but  never  such  another  as  the 
last. 

Finally  Grylls  changed  his  tactics.  From  behind 
his  rock  he  taunted  Garth  vilely.  The  walls  of  the 
ravine  reverberated  horridly  with  the  sound  of  the 
sudden  human  voice. 

But  Garth  still  bided  his  time;  merely  adding  the 
insult  of  the  words  to  Natalie's  ears,  to  the  score  of  his 

rage- 
Natalie  in  the  meantime,  thankful  to  have  something 
to  do,  had  been  piling  stones  as  heavy  as  she  could 
lift,  on  the  rock  behind  him.  She  had  torn  the  sling 
from  her  arm;  and  was  using  the  weaker  member  to 
steady  the  other. 

Garth,  fearful  that  Grylls  might  succeed  in  flanking 
them  at  last,  ordered  her  to  climb  up  behind  him;  and 
without  turning  his  head,  told  her  how  to  make  a  little 
parapet  along  the  top  of  the  rock  on  the  exposed  side. 

Garth  finally  got  his  chance.  A  little  stone  rolled 
down  from  Mabyn's  hiding-place;  and  he  instantly 
trained  his  gun  on  the  spot.  Mabyn,  miscalculating, 
or  losing  his  head,  suddenly  scurried  for  the  next 
rock.  Garth  had  marked  it.  Mabyn  gained  it,  but 
before  he  could  pull  his  legs  after  him  the  rifle  spoke. 


340 

There  was  a  scream  of  pain;  and  Mabyn's  body,  sliding 
from  behind  the  rock,  rolled  and  dropped  heavily 
from  stone  to  stone.  A  leg  caught  in  a  fissure  and 
stayed  him;  he  hung  head  downward,  writhing  in 
hideous,  theatrical  postures  of  agony,  and  screaming 
like  a  woman.  Garth,  thinking  of  Natalie,  longed  to 
send  a  shot  to  still  the  noise;  but  his  hand  was  held 
by  his  promise  to  Rina. 

It  was  all  over  in  a  minute  after  that.  Grylls, 
careless  of  the  other's  fate,  scrambled  up  from  stone 
to  stone.  Garth  peppered  his  course  with  bullets; 
but  the  rocks  were  scattered  so  thickly,  Grylls  needed 
to  expose  himself  for  scarcely  a  second  at  a  time. 
He  gained  the  trees  at  last. 

An  instant  of  terrible  suspense  succeeded.  Garth 
made  Natalie  lie  close  under  the  little  wall  she  had  been 
building.  He  crouched  over  her,  himself  fully  exposed, 
searching  the  hillside  with  strained  eyes.  Suddenly 
he  saw  the  bloated  face  not  thirty  yards  away.  Grylls 
had  partly  stepped  from  behind  a  tree  and  was  delib- 
erately taking  aim.  Garth  sprang  to  his  knees.  The 
two  guns  spoke  at  once.  Grylls  pitched  headfirst  down 
the  steep  slope  into  view;  and  rolled  down  the  bare 
rocks  into  the  tiny  stream. 

"I've  got  him!"  shouted  Garth  triumphantly. 

Even  as  he  spoke  he  toppled  over  sideways.  Natalie 
clutched  at  him  wildly;  but  his  coat  was  pulled  out  of 
her  grasp.  He  slid  off  the  rock  and  dropped  on  the 
stones  behind.  In  an  instant  she  was  at  his  side.  He 


IN    DEATH    CANYON  341 

was  already  struggling  to  rise  —  his  teeth  pressed  into 
his  lip  until  the  blood  oozed  between. 

"Only  my  left  shoulder,"  he  muttered.  "I  can 
still  shoot.  There's  Mary,  yet.  Help  me  up." 

Somehow,  with  her  aid,  he  managed  to  pull  himself 
back  on  the  rock,  one  arm  dangling  useless.  Through 
his  loophole,  he  saw  Mary  toiling  openly  up  the  ravine. 
He  showed  himself.  At  the  sight  of  him  the  old 
woman  paused  and  held  out  her  hands  as  if  inviting 
him  to  shoot.  She  had  left  her  gun.  When  he  made 
no  offer  to  fire,  she  quietly  continued  her  climb.  Garth 
watched  her  grimly. 

Reaching  Grylls's  body,  she  unwound  a  woollen 
scarf  from  about  her  waist;  and  passing  it  under  his 
shoulders,  partly  hoisted  his  great  bulk  on  her  back 
with  an  incredible  effort;  and  started  down  again. 
Grylls  was  quite  dead;  his  heels  thudded  limply  from 
stone  to  stone. 

Long  before  she  reached  the  bottom,  Garth  lost  in- 
terest in  her  progress.  He  had  fainted. 

Natalie,  working  to  restore  him,  distracted,  hopeless: 
crazed,  suddenly  heard  a  distant  shout;  and  looking 
up  distinguished  a  little  cavalcade  winding  down  the 
face  of  the  great  gorge.  There  was  a  red  coat  among 
them. 

"Garth!  We're  saved!  We're  saved!"  she  cried 
to  his  unhearing  ears. 


XXV 

EPILOGUE:  SPOKEN  BY  CHARLEY 

IN  THE  city  of  Winnipeg  on  a  brilliant  day 
toward  the  end  of  winter,  a  broad-shouldered, 
ruddy  youth,  with  dancing  blue  eyes  and  a 
capacious  smile,  came  running  down  a  side  street, 
and  catching  a  certain  fence-post  at  full  speed, 
swung  himself  inside  the  gate  with  the  dexterity 
of  old  practice;  sprang  up  the  steps  and  banged 
on  the  door. 

It  was  opened  questioningly  by  a  little  mouse  of  a 
woman,  with  great  brown  eyes,  and  gray  strands 
mixing  in  her  bright,  brown  hair. 

The  boy  flung  his  arms  around  her  like  a  bear. 
"Mother!"  he  cried  breathlessly. 

"Charley!     My  boy!"  she  gasped. 

He  picked  her  up  bodily;  and,  kicking  the  door  shut, 
carried  her  into  the  cheerful  sitting  room,  where  gera- 
niums bloomed  on  the  sunny  window-sill,  and  a  fire 
danced  in  the  grate. 

"I'm  bigger  than  you  are  now!"  he  chuckled  joy- 
ously. He  put  her  in  her  chair;  and  waltzed  about  the 
room,  touching  the  well-remembered  objects.  "By 

343 


EPILOGUE  343 

Jolly!  the  very  same  pictures,  the  good  old  sofa!" 
he  sang.  "Oh,  it's  good  to  be  home!" 

The  mother  held  out  her  arms.  "My  boy!  My 
boy!"  was  all  she  could  say. 

Dropping  to  his  knees,  he  embraced  her  again. 
"You  dear  old  lady,"  he  cried.  "What  a  trouble 
I  always  was !  It's  your  turn  to  have  a  good  time  now!" 

"It's  enough  to  have  you  back,"  she  murmured. 

He  gyrated  about  the  room  again.  "Say,  I  feel 
as  giddy  as  a  puppy  after  a  bath!  Imagine  trolley-cars 
and  baby-carriages  and  show  windows  and  silver  knives 
and  forks  after  two  years  in  the  North.  Say,  I've 
clean  forgot  how  to  eat  stylish!" 

"How  long  are  you  going  to  stay?"  she  murmured. 

He  came  to  a  stand  beside  her.  "I'm  not  going 
back,"  he  said  in  a  deeper  tone.  "It's  a  bully  country 
and  I  had  a  whale  of  a  time  —  but  I  belong  here! 
I'm  going  to  take  care  of  you  now,  and  bring  up  the 
kids.  I'm  a  man  now,"  —  his  face  changed  comically 
-"Don't  laugh!"  he  begged.  "I  used  to  say  that 
all  the  time;  but  it's  different  now;  you'll  see!  I've 
had  experience!" 

She  held  out  her  arms  to  him  again.  "Tell  me,  my 
son,"  she  whispered. 

He  dropped  to  the  floor  beside  her;  and  laid  his  head 
against  her  knee.  There,  in  front  of  the  fire,  while 
the  sun  went  down,  and  the  early  winter  twilight 
gathered,  he  told  her  the  story. 

"  When  Garth  rode  away  leaving  me  and  Rina  in  tht 


344  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

poplar  bluff,"  he  said  —  reaching  that  part  in  due 
course  —  "I  didn't  know  much  what  was  happening. 
But  say,  that  Rina,  she's  an  out-o'-sight  nurse!  She 
brought  me  around  in  great  shape;  and  the  second  day 
afterward  I  was  as  peart  as  you  please.  That  same 
day  the  fellows  from  the  Crossing  turned  up;  Jim 
Plaskett,  the  policeman,  and  three  others.  It  was 
Jim  made  them  come,  soon  as  he  heard  the  story. 
Jim's  a  peacherino!  One  of  these  lean,  quiet  chaps 
you  can  depend  on;  decent,  too,  clean-mouthed  — Oh! 
Jim's  looked  up  to,  I  can  tell  you! 

"They  wanted  me  to  rest  a  while  yet,  till  they  came 
back.  But  they  had  plenty  of  spare  horses,  and  Rina 
and  I  wouldn't  stand  for  being  left  behind.  We  rode 
like  sixty  all  next  day,  and  camped  only  fifteen  miles 
from  Death  River.  We  found  the  bones  of  Garth's 
horse  on  the  way  —  picked  clean;  and  the  note  he  left 
every  place  he  camped.  You  ought  to  have  heard 
Jim  Plaskett  crack  up  Garth's  pluck  —  and  Jim  knows! 

"We  reached  the  canyon  about  half-past  six  in  the 
morning.  I'd  heard  of  that  place  from  the  Indians. 
Say,  it  was  a  fearsome  spot!  a  kind  of  crooked,  gaping 
split  in  the  prairie  like  the  pictures  in  Dante's  Inferno. 
The  walls  were  as  bare  and  hard  and  cold  as  black  ice; 
and  way  down  in  the  bottom  there  was  a  horrible 
jelly-like  water  swirling  around  without  making  any 
noise.  Seems  if  you  couldn't  breathe  good  when  you 
got  into  the  place !  Minded  me  of  the  receiving  vault 
in  the  cemetery. 


EPILOGUE  345 

"There  was  a  risky  little  path  going  down,  and  we 
kept  right  on.  Across  the  river,  there  was  a  break  in 
the  wall  where  a  creek  came  down  a  steep,  wild-looking 
ravine.  At  the  bottom  of  it  we  could  see  a  tepee  and 
a  tent;  but  no  people.  Some  said  they  saw  a  body 
in  the  ravine,  but  you  couldn't  rightly  make  out." 

Charley  paused  and  shuddered.  "Say,  it  was 
horrible!"  he  whispered.  "Glad  I  don't  have  dreams! 
When  we  got  down  near  the  water  suddenly  we  saw 
old  Mary  Co-que-wasa  come  climbing  over  a  heap 
of  stones  that  was  piled  on  the  flat;  and  she  was  bent 
almost  double,  half  lifting,  half  dragging  a  man  by  a 
rope  under  his  arms.  It  was  Nick  Grylls.  He  looked 
dead. 

"We  shouted  at  her;  and  she  looked  up  just  once. 
I  saw  her  face  plain.  It  wasn't  surprised  or  glad  or 
anything  —  just  stupid  like  a  breed.  She  never 
stopped  walking.  She  stepped  right  off  the  flat  rock 
into  the  deep  water  with  the  man  on  her  back;  and  they 
went  out  of  sight;  and  some  bubbles  came  up." 

He  stopped,  staring  into  the  fire.  His  mother  caught 
him  to  her  breast.  "Oh,  my  son!  what  sights  were 
these!"  she  murmured. 

"Mary  was  a  deep  one!"  Charley  said  slowly. 
"You  couldn't  tell  about  her!  I  never  heard  her  open 
her  mouth! 

"We  hustled  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,"  he 
resumed  presently.  "  Jim  Plaskett  threw  off  his  coat; 
and  went  in  after  them.  But  it  was  no  use;  the  current 


346  TWO    ON    THE    TRAIL 

carried  them  down;  and  it  was  too  cold  to  stay  in  more 
than  a  minute  or  two.  We  never  saw  them  again. 

"Jim  landed  on  the  other  side;  and  brought  us 
back  the  raft  that  was  there;  and  we  all  crossed. 
There  was  nobody  in  the  tents  —  blankets  in  a  heap, 
as  if  they'd  sprung  out  of  bed  suddenly.  We  started 
to  climb  the  ravine.  It  was  a  body  lying  there  on  the 
rocks;  it  was  Mabyn.  Rina  was  halfway  to  it,  be- 
fore any  of  us  saw.  He  wasn't  dead;  but  had  a  bullet 
through  both  legs. 

"Say  that  place  was  full  of  horrors!  It  stunk  of 
gunpowder;  and  there  was  little  thin  layers  of  smoke 
hanging  quiet  between  the  walls.  I  was  near  out  of  my 
head,  thinking  what  had  become  of  them.  We  shouted 
all  the  time;  and  by  and  by  we  got  a  faint  kind  of  an 
answer  back.  By  Jolly!  I  went  up  those  rocks  like 
a  cat!  I  found  them  behind  a  whopping  big  rock. 
Garth  was  stretched  out  all  bloody  and  she  was  trying 
to  get  his  coat  off;  and  she  couldn't.  She  looked  up  at 
me  with  a  face  like  chalk;  and  when  she  saw  who  it 
was,  she  just  gave  a  little  cry  like  a  baby,  and  keeled 
over.  Oh,  it  was  pitiful!  I  carried  her  down  to  the 
river.  I  wouldn't  let  anybody  else  touch  her. 

"Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  we  decided  to 
raft  it  down  the  river  to  Fort  Ochre,  instead  of  trying 
to  win  overland  to  the  Crossing.  Garth  had  a  ball 
through  his  shoulder  and  a  gashed  hand;  an^  Mabyn 
was  pretty  low.  It  was  longer  that  way,  but  we  could 
carry  them  comfortable. 


EPILOGUE  347 

"We  built  another  raft  and  started  next  morning. 
Jim  Plaskett,  Mabyn  and  Rina  went  on  the  first;  and 
Sandy  Arkess,  Garth,  Natalie  and  I  followed  on  the 
other.  The  other  two  fellows  were  to  drive  all  the 
horses  back  over  the  prairie.  Say,  that  was  quite  a 
journey!  Garth  was  getting  better;  and  we  all  felt 
pretty  good,  sitting  round  and  swapping  yarns,  and 
looking  at  the  scenery,  while  the  current  carried  us 
down.  When  we  got  out  of  the  gorge,  coming  down 
so  quietly  as  we  were,  we  saw  any  amount  of  game. 
Got  a  moose  right  on  the  bank!  Gee!  that  was  good 
meat!  And  at  night,  say  it  was  out  o'  sight!  sitting 
there  talking  about  going  home,  and  watching  the 
trees  march  past,  and  a  bang-up  show  of  Northern 
lights  up  above!  It  was  pretty  cold. 

"  There  was  the  Dickens  of  a  pow-pow  at  the  Fort, 
when  we  got  there  at  last!  It's  great  sport  being  a 
hero!  The  Bishop  and  his  party  were  there,  just 
ready  to  start  for  home,  and  you  never  saw  such  a 
surprised  man,  when  he  saw  Garth  coming  in  from 
the  other  direction.  And  the  old  woman  —  I  mean 
Mrs.  Bishop  —  took  to  Natalie  like  her  long-lost 
mother. 

"Their  party  was  obliged  to  start  at  once  for  fear 
of  the  river's  closing  on  them;  and  Garth  insisted  on 
sending  Natalie  out  with  the  old  lady.  She  kicked 
like  anything  at  leaving  him  there  wounded;  and  I 
braced  him,  too,  to  let  her  stay;  but  he  told  me  it  was 
for  the  sake  of  her  good  name.  I  didn't  quite  see  that 


348  TWO     ON    THE    TRAIL 

—  why  any  one  who  knew  Natalie!  —  but  I  suppose 
he  knew  best. 

"  Garth  and  I  stayed  at  Fort  Ochre.  The  Inspector 
came  down  the  river;  and  there  was  an  official  investi- 
gation. I  was  right  in  the  thick  of  it.  Gee !  but  it  was 
sport!  Colonel  Whinyates  is  a  great  little  chap  - 
cheeks  as  red  as  church  cushions,  and  eyes  that  pop 
like  gooseberries!  It  was  great  to  hear  him  bawl  at 
the  witnesses.  But  he's  all  right.  Him  and  I  were 
good  friends! 

"  Garth  told  his  story  and  I  told  mine,  and  Rina  and 
Plaskett.  And  Natalie  had  left  what  they  call  a 
disposition  behind  her.  Everything  was  all  straight, 
but  Garth  clinched  the  matter  by  calling  Mabyn  to 
testify.  He  was  carried  in  on  a  stretcher.  And 
blamed  if  he  didn't  tell  the  truth!  He'd  had  a  close 
call,  you  see,  and  had  what  Garth  called  a  change  of 
heart.  It  was  Rina  did  it;  day  and  night  she  never 
left  him ! 

"The  investigation  ended  in  a  love  feast — that's 
what  Garth  called  it.  Old  Colonel  shook  hands 
with  Garth  and  me,  and  said  we  were  heroes,  by  Gad  I 
He's  a  bird.  Garth  wouldn't  prosecute  Mabyn;  and 
he  was  let  out  from  under  arrest. 

"The  winter  had  set  in  by  that  time;  and  Garth  and 
I  couldn't  get  out  till  the  ice  formed.  It  was  pretty 
slow  up  there,  you  bet!  and,  as  Garth  said,  our  hearts 
were  outside.  We  talked  about  Natalie  all  the  time. 
Mabyn  got  well,  and  he  and  Rina  set  off  for  their  place 


EPILOGUE  349 

with  a  dog-train.  Garth  gave  them  a  bang-up  outfit! 
Mabyn  was  a  decent  head,  after  he  got  well;  and  Rina 
certainly  was  happy  about  it.  I  forgot  to  tell  you 
that  Mabyn's  mother  had  died  in  the  fall;  and  there  was 
no  need  for  him  to  go  out. 

"The  first  mail  got  through  in  January,  and  we 
heard  from  Natalie  at  last.  Bully  news!  Garth  had 
sent  her  another  one  of  those  dispositions  —  Mabyn 
swore  to  it  —  in  the  November  mail;  and  it  seems 
that  was  all  she  needed  in  order  to  have  the  courts 
annul  the  old  marriage  they  had  gone  through  together. 
Natalie  has  been  a  free  woman  since  Christmas! 

"We  came  out  with  the  mail  man  next  day,  you  bet! 
That  was  six  weeks  ago,  and  here  we  are!  Garth  is 
waiting  for  me  down  at  the  station.  I  wanted  him  to 
come  up;  but  he  said  he  guessed  you  would  want  me 
to  yourself  for  a  while.  Gee!  I  must  be  hustling! 
Train  goes  at  six- thirty!" 

"  But  where  are  you  going  ?"  she  asked  in  dismay. 

Charley  kissed  her.  "East  to  Millerton,  to  the 
wedding,  of  course!  Back  in  two  weeks!  Oh,  what 
larks !  What  do  you  think !  I'm  going  to  be  best  man. 
Garth  is  getting  me  a  silk  tile  and  a  frock  coat!  Oh, 
Crikey!  Good-bye!" 

The  door  slammed. 

THE    END 


A     000120561     6 


